AJC Project Interchange Mayor Shane Bemis, Laura DeKoven Waxman USCM, Melanie Maron Pell, AJC, Mayor Kathy Sheehan, Mayor Richard Kriseman, Mayor Michelle De La Isla, Ana Guerrero, COS, LA, Mayor Eric Garcetti in Tel Aviv; Photo by AJC Project Interchange 
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and other mayors in the U.S. delegation kicked off their Israeli educational seminar on May 13 by gaining a general overview of Israeli politics and society with former Member of Knesset Einat Wilf. The group also learned about the startup nation by visiting Peres Innovation Center and met with Alan Meidan, manager of the Knowledge Center for Innovation.
Later in the day they met with senior representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visited Tel Aviv to see the Municipality Smart City Command Center, met with Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai and Intel Israel CEO Yanic Garty.
When speaking with Mayor Huldai, he told them about innovation, economic empowerment and urban development, as well as absorption of immigrants.
The group will dive into learning more about why Israel is known as a startup nation on May 14 and will meet with Eyal Feder-Levy, CEO and co-founder of ZenCity, which specializes in data analytics and urban revitalization. They will also visit Haifa and meet with Haifa Mayor Einat Kalisch-Rotem.
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