"Together with President Shimon Peres and the King of Jordan, I believe we will succeed in building the Peace Channel," Yitzhak Tshuva said Wednesday morning in New York at the opening of the two-day U.S. Israel Executive Summit. He was refering to the link between the Red and Dead Seas.
The conference was held at Tshuva's Plaza Hotel, and marked an informal reopening for the hotel and apartment complex.
The conference, initiated by TheMarker, focused on deepening business ties between Israeli and American executives. Tshuva seemed to be rather excited as he rose to speak, accompanied by the song "My Way."
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In his welcoming remarks, Tshuva said that while Israeli businessmen were succeeding all over the world, and Israeli minds were sought after everywhere, there is a need to invest in Israel to continue the country's development.
Tshuva also revealed that he will reopen the Plaza soon with a "royal" celebration. He added that only deep ties between Israel and its neighbors can bring peace in the region.
Hundreds of the most senior representatives of Israeli business packed the conference, held in a renovated hall reminiscent of a 19th century ballroom.
The first day of the conference highlighted the Israeli economy and ways to bring investors to the country.
"I have a lot of respect for Yitzhak Tshuva. He has done something incredible with the Plaza," real estate magnate Donald Trump told the summit yesterday afternoon. Trump owned the the Plaza at one time, but said he still has feelings for the place.
As for more mundane issues, Trump told the conference attendees he expects the U.S. real estate market to bottom out in 6-12 months, but added he personally expects to make a lot of money off the slowdown since there are a lot of good properties worth buying. He said he can now buy things he couldn't buy two years ago. He said the Manhattan real estate market is in excellent shape, maybe the best ever.
As for Israel, Trump said he loved the country and had visited a few times. He said there was even a park named after him - after he donated money for it. As for whether he intends to invest in Israel, Trump responded to the question saying he was about to build a building here, but the site was sold first. He said he might do a deal with Tshuva, and there were also interesting places to build in the Far East and Russia. But Israel is now a hot location, said Trump, adding he never would have said that 4 or 5 years ago.
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