Frequently Asked Questions
The Chamber maintained a standing FAQ for companies considering the region and for members using its services. The answers below are presented with live service details removed.
Where was the Chamber located, and why?
AICC was founded and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, but covered the Southeastern region — North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. All lie in the Eastern Time Zone, so companies in these states enjoyed the advantage of real-time, same-day communication with clients in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America.
Did Israeli businesses have headquarters or regional offices in the Southeast?
Yes — a substantial number. By the early 2010s the Chamber counted more than forty-five Israeli companies with a US or regional headquarters in the Atlanta area alone, and roughly thirty more with operations across Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, making the region one of the top five centres of Israeli company activity in North America. The state-by-state picture is summarised under Israeli companies in the Southeast.
What was the Israeli community in Atlanta like?
Atlanta is the home of the Consulate General of Israel for the Southeast. With an Israeli population exceeding 1,500, the community supported a range of active programming. Israelis had distinguished themselves as entrepreneurs and professionals, and held positions of importance in many of the major technology companies in the area.
What is the weather like in the Southeast?
Similar to Israel's. The climate in the Southeastern United States is comfortable year-round, providing a superior quality of life. The mild climate also eliminates weather problems that plague businesses in the Northeastern cities — a consideration that mattered more to logistics and continuity planning than the phrasing suggests.
What was the cost of living in the Southeastern U.S.?
Housing, commercial space, taxes, professional services and labour were of equal quality but less expensive in the Southeast than in competing northern or west coast US cities. This was central to the Chamber's argument: an Israeli company establishing a first US office could do so at materially lower cost without sacrificing the quality of the professional infrastructure around it.
What was the South Carolina-Israel Collaboration?
A major initiative of that state's research universities, industries and economic development agencies together with the Israeli government. It was organised by the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Southeast Region, with grant support from a Charleston-based industrial group. It is described more fully under the Israel Innovation Impact Series.
What did the AICC offer member companies?
The Chamber had been helping Israeli companies successfully penetrate the US market for almost twenty years at the time this answer was written. It offered a service designed with the input of Israeli companies already in the region, aimed at Israeli companies considering a new US headquarters — covering executive search, commercial space, relocation, legal, mentoring, accounting, venture capital, insurance, business consulting, human resources, banking, housing and hospitality. See services to Israeli companies and membership.
What is a U.S. Certificate of Origin for exports to Israel, and why is it needed?
In order for US exporters to qualify for preferential access to the Israeli market, a special certificate of origin must accompany all shipments from the United States to Israel. The United States-Israel Free Trade Area Agreement came into full effect in 1995. Under this agreement, American companies exporting to Israel can gain greater market access, reduce transaction costs, increase sales, enhance export revenues and become more competitive in the Israeli marketplace.
Israeli Customs has advised that it is not possible for goods to be cleared through customs if the correct certificate of origin form is not attached to the other standard shipping documents. US exporters are encouraged to qualify for preferential tariff treatment and to obtain, when necessary, a certificate of non-manipulation for transshipments. Full explanation on the certificate of origin page; current official guidance is published by the US Commercial Service.
Is the Chamber still operating?
No. The organisation later rebranded as Conexx: America Israel Business Connector, and in late 2024 announced that it would disband its board of directors and suspend membership activities. The Chamber is no longer operating and offers no membership, directory, application or contact service.
How should a researcher interpret an organisation's history?
A chamber's record combined different kinds of statement. Descriptions of territory, governance and programme design set out how the institution was organised. Claims about regional cost, convenience or business advantage expressed the case it made to prospective members and companies. For research purposes, the first category described structure; the second recorded an institutional position that may require independent comparison.
Meaning also emerged from relationships among activities. A list of member services became more informative beside the committee system that supplied expertise and the events calendar that created occasions for introductions. Repeated descriptions across those functions could reveal the operating model without documenting the result of any particular meeting. Silence about an outcome should remain silence, rather than an invitation to infer success or failure.
Practical details aged faster than organisational design. Contact routes, fees, forms, office procedures and regulatory instructions belonged to the period in which they were issued. They showed what a company was expected to do then, but were not a basis for present-day business or compliance decisions. The durable evidence concerned remit, membership, programme structure and the way a bi-national organisation connected two markets.