Representatives of more than 50 businesses, including some of the state’s biggest players in health care, law, and technology, are set to join Governor Deval Patrick on an official trip to Israel later this month.
The delegation will include more than 100 people from more than 50 businesses and universities, including powerhouse law firm Mintz Levin, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., top Massachusetts technology company EMC Corp., and MIT, according to the New England-Israel Business Council, which is helping to organize the expedition.
A number of executives are planning to join the governor in Israel. They include Kevin Tabb, president and chief executive of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Brandeis University president Fred Lawrence; and Joel Schwartz, a senior vice president at EMC, according to a spokesman for the delegation, Alex Goldstein.
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Governors often travel on economic development trips with business leaders from their state, but such a large delegation is unusual.
Since taking office as governor in 2007, Patrick has conducted seven foreign trips focused on economic development, including a 2011 journey that included a leg in Israel.
In an announcement, Patrick’s office trumpeted what it said happened following his visit three years ago: An Israeli biotech company announced new jobs in the state and established a headquarters in Waltham, and an Israeli water treatment business moved its headquarters to Newton.
This year’s visit to Israel comes as part of a broader Middle East trade mission that Patrick is conducting from May 27 to June 4. It will include stops in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi.
A Patrick spokeswoman, Rachael Neff, said in an e-mail the trip will be paid for with “a mix of public and private funds,” but did not elaborate.
Neff said later that the total cost of a trip is not determined until the money is expended, and that has not yet happened for this mission.
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“This mission is a tremendous opportunity for us to strengthen our relationship with key global growth centers, to compete for jobs on the global playing field, and position Massachusetts as the North American destination for business growth,” Patrick said in a statement.
The Middle East trip will be Patrick’s 10th official journey abroad as governor, counting a trip to visit troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and another for a conference of governors in Canada in addition to the seven trade missions.
Joshua Miller can be reached at joshua.miller@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jm_bos.