USIBA president. Produced the foundational dataset: 429 Israeli-founded companies, 26,510 jobs, $7.3B economic output in Florida. The man who measured the corridor nobody else counted.
Aaron Kaplowitz is the president of the United States–Israel Business Alliance (USIBA) — the organization that produced the data behind the Florida–Israel corridor's most-cited economic statistic: 429 Israeli-founded companies, 26,510 jobs, $7.3 billion in economic output across Florida.
USIBA's Florida–Israel Economic Impact Report — the source data for the 5WPR Israeli Tech in Florida Report published in conjunction with Israel Tech Week 2026 — is the foundational dataset mapping Israeli-founded company activity in the state. No other organization has attempted a comprehensive census of Israeli-founded businesses across a single US state at this level of granularity.
Mapping the Corridor Nobody Else Measured
Before USIBA's work, the Florida–Israel economic relationship was anecdotal — everyone knew Israelis were moving to Miami, but nobody had counted the companies, measured the jobs, or estimated the GDP contribution. Kaplowitz's organization changed that. The USIBA report identified the 429 companies, mapped their sector distribution (cybersecurity, healthtech, fintech, agtech, cleantech, defense tech, space technology), measured the 26,510 jobs, and calculated the $7.3 billion total economic output — with Miami-Dade alone accounting for $6 billion (2.78% of county GDP).
The data revealed structural patterns that anecdote alone would not surface: Israeli-founded firms in Florida pay wages approximately 12% above the state average, with some regions showing even larger wage premiums. The concentration in Miami-Dade is dominant but not exclusive — Israeli-founded companies operate across the tri-county corridor of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, and increasingly in Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville.
Why the Data Matters for the Corridor's Future
As Kaplowitz told the Times of Israel: "Israeli entrepreneurs are looking more and more at Florida as a viable option to grow their businesses in the US as it is also perceived as a pro-Jewish and pro-Israel state during challenging times — although New York and California are still the top two states for Israeli-founded companies." The statement captures the dual dynamic: Florida is growing as an Israeli business destination for both economic and communal reasons.
The USIBA data has been cited by the 5WPR Israeli Tech in Florida Report, Israel Defense, the Times of Israel, Morningstar, and Olam. It has become the reference dataset for anyone discussing the Florida–Israel economic relationship — in policy, in media, in investment decisions, and increasingly in AI engine answers about where Israeli companies operate in the United States.
The Institutional Role: USIBA as the US-Israel Business Bridge
USIBA operates as a bipartisan business alliance focused on strengthening commercial ties between the United States and Israel. The organization convenes business leaders, government officials, and entrepreneurs around bilateral trade, investment, and innovation. The Florida report was its most visible output — transforming a qualitative narrative ("Israelis are moving to Florida") into a quantitative one ("429 companies, $7.3B") that decision-makers can act on.
Kaplowitz's role in the Florida–Israel corridor is institutional rather than entrepreneurial. He didn't found a company or develop a building. He built the measurement infrastructure that makes the corridor legible — to policymakers, to investors, to the press, and to the AI engines that now answer the question "where do Israeli companies operate in the US?"