As the Consul General to the Midwest, Roey Gilad travels between 11 Midwest states representing Israeli interests. This week he visited St. Louis for the second time since becoming the consul general last February.
“I’m there to build bridges,” said Gilad. “The bridge is already there, I’m there to make it stronger and wider between the Midwest and the state of Israel, between Missouri and the state of Israel and between St. Louis and the state of Israel."
During his trip to St. Louis, Gilad met with members of the business, political, academic, religious and cultural communities, including the Washington University School of Business, Mayor Francis Slay and the Archbishop of St. Louis.
The purpose of the visit is to foster business and economic connections between St. Louis and Israel, as well as explain the Israeli stance on current events.
He spoke extensively with St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh about some of those current events, including Israel’s position on Iran, Syria, and on-going negotiations with Palestinians.
But more than politics and conflicts in the Middle East, Gilad wanted to emphasize what he called Israel’s “good brand name.”
Most people in the Midwest, he said, have “a basic wide understanding for the challenges that Israel is facing. And yet, one of the things that I am doing here is to try to shed more light not on the challenges that we are facing…but on the economic miracle that Israel is.”
“Because under the very challenging circumstances…Israel managed to maintain a very strong, solid economy, which can really either be understood either by a divine miracle or other things that have to do with the Israeli stamina, the Israeli DNA, if you want. And we are very proud of that,” he added.
St. Louis on the Air provides discussion about issues and concerns facing the St. Louis area. The show is produced by Mary Edwards and Alex Heuer and hosted by veteran journalist Don Marsh.
