(R-L) Ambassador Dani Dayan, Consul General in NYC, and Consul General to the Mid-Atlantic Region Yaron Sideman
Philadelphia, PA (August 10, 2016) – The closing of the Israeli Consulate in Philadelphia later this month, has prompted an historic realignment of services and resources affecting the entire greater Philadelphia community, which will now be served out of New York. The departure of Consul General Yaron Sideman here, coincides with the appointment of a new Consul General in New York, Ambassador Dani Dayan, who traveled to Philadelphia within 48 hours of arriving in the United States last week, for a reception of business and investment leaders hosted by the Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (PICC).
“The Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce worked closely with the Consulate General in Philadelphia to put a unified effort promoting the commercial connections between Israel and the Greater Philadelphia region, Southern New Jersey and Delaware,” said PICC President David J. Allon, MBA, Financial Consultant at Citizens Investment Services. “We have been very blessed to have had such a positive and productive relationship with everyone at the consulate in Philadelphia. While we deeply regret that the consulate will shortly be closing, we wish them all the best in the future. We were also honored to welcome Consul General Dani Dayan to his post in New York, and we look forward to working together with him and his team to continue building joint ventures between Israel and the Tri-State Area.”
Consul General of Israel to the Mid-Atlantic Region Yaron Sideman spoke at the reception, thanking his team for their work over the years, as well as the Philadelphia community at large for welcoming them and joining in their efforts to build strong relationships with Israel.
“I understand business and lived business,” said Consul General Dayan. “I made a point to visit Philadelphia shortly after my arrival to the U.S. to demonstrate to my staff that Philadelphia will be very central to our responsibilities. I am aware that people said that it will never be the same after the Consulate closes. It is true, but we will do our best to minimize the impact.”
Consul Dayan expressed his goal to serve in a way that would benefit everyone in his region. Leading Israel’s largest diplomatic mission, his first priority is to garner diplomatic support to Israel.
Consul General Dayan began his professional career as an entrepreneur and businessman, founding Elad Systems in 1982 at the young age of 26. He served for several years as its CEO and later as Chairman of the Board.
From 1990-1992, Consul General Dayan served as the General Secretary of the Techiya political party. He was responsible for all of the movement’s activities and public campaigns and was instrumental in the negotiations that led to the party’s inclusion in Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir’s 1990 coalition government.
Before establishing his own information technology company, Dayan spent seven and a half years in the Israel Defense Forces serving in the elite MAMRAM computerized data processing center, attaining the rank of Major. Dayan was Chairman of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria from July 2007 until January 2013. He then acted for two additional years as the Council’s Chief Foreign Envoy.
Consul General Dayan has been for many years a regular commentator in the international press, both broadcast and print, and was frequently called upon to participate in public debates and panels at major conferences and universities.
Dayan holds a B.Sc. in Economics and Computer Sciences from Bar Ilan University and M.Sc. in Finance from Tel Aviv University. He also served on the Israel Broadcasting Authority Board and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Council.
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Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce:
The Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (PICC), established in 1987, is the go-to independent organization facilitating connections between Israeli and Philadelphia, Southern New Jersey and Delaware based businesses, governmental agencies and economic development organizations. The PICC also represents the US-Israel Binational Industrial R&D (BIRD) Foundation, which has made more than $10 million in industrial R&D grants regionally to U.S.-Israeli company technology ventures.
Since January, six Israeli companies opened their US offices in Philadelphia and five more are exploring calling the Greater Philadelphia region their home by early 2017.
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For additional info:
Vered Nohi, picc@phillyisraelchamber.com, 302.540.6374 mobile.