Gov. Chris Christie has made plans to travel to Israel beginning Sunday in what his office has called “Jersey to Jerusalem.” Christie has wanted to visit that area since last year and all elected governors since Brendan Byrne have taken a trip to Israel. Christie and his family are also scheduled to travel to Jordan next week.
“New Jersey has a very special relationship with Israel that began well over 20-plus years ago,” said lobbyist Steve Some who traveled to Israel with Govs. Christine Whitman and Thomas Kean. “In New Jersey we have what’s called the New Jersey-Israel Commission. It’s the only state in the country that has a commission like this which is focused on trade relations and cultural ties.”
The trip is being paid for by Choose New Jersey, the state’s marketing arm, and by the Republican Jewish Coalition, a national group. New Jersey has a Jewish population of 5.5 percent and Israel is the state’s 11th largest trading partner with strong ties in biomedicine. The two signed a sister state agreement in 1988.
Former Kean and Whitman Communications Director Carl Golden said of foreign excursions, “New Jersey politics are run by the three I’s — Ireland, Italy and Israel.”
According to Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), a member of the New Jersey-Israel Commission, the trip is a sign of Christie’s political ambitions beyond New Jersey.
“I said kind of smilingly to somebody a few months ago, ‘we’ll know that the governor has real national aspirations when he makes plans for his trip to Israel.’ And lo and behold, here we are.”
Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth County) said the state’s Jewish population is important and growing.
“Not just my district but across the state, we see the influence of Jewish life in New Jersey and I think it’s a real signal to the community that the governor considers their input very important,” said Beck.
NJ Today Chief Political Correspondent Michael Aron said governors used to travel more internationally, but trips have been cut back since the economic downturn. He said going to Israel has remained an “obligatory stop.” It’s likely, he said, that the governor will meet with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Abdullah.
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