From the Author:
I assume that anyone who reads this book will realize that it is a memoir. Memoirs generally address professional and public interests and are written in first person.
I have divided the book's topic - Israel's foreign trade administration - into eleven chapters, all of which are intertwined with one another as well as with the emerging issues. As there is much to be said (and I relied chiefly on my own memory), I was unable to cover everything, and fell short of addressing every important person and event along the way.
Why, then, did I decide to publish the book nevertheless?
I will allow a greater man to speak for me. Buddha's students tell that during one of his lessons, he said, "know that all things must pass, except for those which we have given to others. Those things can never be taken away."
And so, I agree with Buddha's wise words. I wish to share with you the information and experiences I have gathered since that day in the 1970's when I began to work for Israel's Foreign Trade Administration.
This book contains useful information accumulated over long years of experience in international negotiation. I believe it can be of aid to anyone who works in the field, not only in Israel but around the world. The materials in the book cannot be found in any formal textbooks, and veteran experience is crucial to successors. The book also includes informative, and sometimes even amusing, anecdotes.
I have no doubt that it will draw and interest many people all over the world who have been asking the question, "how did young Israel do it?!"

★For many years following its establishment, the small State of Israel was an impoverished country and suffered from great trade deficit, but since the 1980’s it has risen up into a productive, trading country with a thriving economy. This unique book sheds light on the fascinating events that led to the small Middle Eastern country’s breakthrough as one of the most significant trading economies in the world.

How did the State of Israel evolve from a marginal economy to one of the significant players in the global trade market?

For many years following its establishment, the small State of Israel was an impoverished country and suffered from great trade deficit, but since the 1980’s it has risen up into a productive, trading country with a thriving economy. How was all this possible despite intricate political challenges?

During the years of technological revolutions and virtual cross-continent domains, the world was slowly globalized. New trade blocs and trade accords were formed, traditional political alliances fell apart, and a long process of peace in the Middle East began.

Zohar Peri served in many positions in the Israeli Ministry of Industry and Trade – commercial attaché in Bonn, Representative in the international economic organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, head of the Foreign Trade Department and Israel’s Economic minister to North America. He was involved in every one of the crossroads that led Israel to its position as a leading player in international trade.

His unique book sheds light on fascinating historical events, as well as the diplomatic and administrative behind-the-scenes work that led to the small Middle Eastern country’s breakthrough as one of the most significant trading economies in the world.

This memoir is interwoven with stories of both edifying and amusing events experienced by the author.

Zohar Peri
Zohar Peri has 30 years of experience representing Israel in international markets and has been a lead negotiator on official economic transactions with Israel's major trading partners.

Peri served as director of the Foreign Trade Administration in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, a post he held from 1989. As director, he was responsible for recommending and implementing Israel's foreign trade and import policy He was also managing the investment and trade promotion activities of economic attachés around the world.

Peri played a leading role in official trade negotiations (multilateral agreements, the Free Trade Area accords (FTAs) with Israel's major trading partners and establishing bilateral trade relations with the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia).

Peri served as Israel's trade representative in Switzerland and in Bonn, Germany. During his tenure in Switzerland, he was a delegate with several international economic organizations in Geneva and represented Israel at the GATT and WTO talks from 1977-1980.

Zohar Peri began his term as Economic Minister to North America in 2001 and served in this post for five years. He retired from the Israeli government in 2006.

Peri was born in Jerusalem in 1940 and is married with two children. He graduated from the Hebrew University with a degree in Economics and Business Administration.