|
|
June 4, 2004/Sivan 15 5764, Vol. 56, No. 37
Sister city site explored
LEISAH NAMM
Managing Editor
A tour guide, left, leads the group of Phoenix delegates on a tour of Old Jaffa. From left are Eitan Ben-Ami, Ann Warner, Michael McCort, Michael Shelton, Cathy Wolf, Cameron Black, Bob Davey and Andrea Tevlin.
Photo courtesy of Rabbi Robert L. Kravitz
|
As a next step to establishing a Phoenix Sister City in Israel, 11 delegates from Phoenix traveled to Ramat Gan, Israel, May 16-21 for an official site visit.
Delegates met with Ramat Gan Mayor Zvi Bar, deputy mayors and the city manager to discuss possible exchanges and areas of cooperation between the two cities. Meeting topics included fire and security issues, economic development, biotechnology, education, international studies programs and cultural exchanges.
It was the first visit to Israel for eight of the delegates. Veteran Israel travelers included Cathy Wolf, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, and Rabbi Robert Kravitz, executive director of the Arizona chapter of the American Jewish Committee. Ramat Gan native Eitan Ben-Ami, the shaliach for the federation's Israel Center, also joined the delegation.
The search for an Israeli city to partner with Phoenix began in early 2002 when a committee formed to find the right city.
"We checked a few cities, but Ramat Gan is maybe the only city that has the most variety of areas of interest that we can exchange from Phoenix," says Ben-Ami.
After considerable research and a dialogue with Ramat Gan city officials, the Phoenix Ramat Gan Sister Cities Founders Committee presented the Phoenix Sister Cities Commission with a request to gain Ramat Gan as a sister city; approval was granted on Feb. 25 of this year.
Attributes of the city include: Bar Ilan University, Shenkar College for Fashion and Textile Technology, Beit Zvi School for the Performing Arts, Ramat Gan College, Sheba Hospital at Tel-HaShomer, the Diamond Exchange District, a safari park and zoo, a 50,000-seat national stadium and the Israel Sport Center for the Disabled.
"We have a lot of opportunities" for partnership, Ben-Ami says. "In every area that you want to be partnered with in Ramat Gan, you can do that."
For instance, during the site visit, Assistant Phoenix Police Chief Mike McCort met with police officers in Ramat Gan to discuss security issues.
Ann Warner, deputy aviation director of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, toured the new terminal at Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, adjacent to Ramat Gan.
Cameron Black, director of corporate relations for TGen - Translational Genomics Research Institute, a nonprofit biomedical research institute based in Phoenix - looked at possible connections with biotech research and biotech companies.
Mike Shelton, international program manager of the Community and Economic Development Office of the City of Phoenix, viewed possible commercial exchanges between the two cities.
Other delegates were Bill Davey, director of international programs at Arizona State University; Mike Rakowsky, president of the Phoenix Sister Cities Commission; Andrea Tevlin, deputy city manager of the City of Phoenix; and Paula West, executive director of the Phoenix Sister Cities Commission.
The next step is a reciprocal site visit from a Ramat Gan delegation scheduled for October, Wolf says. If all goes as planned, the Phoenix City Council will vote to accept the relationship and Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon will travel to Ramat Gan in early December to officially sign the agreement.
After the partnership becomes official, initial plans include wheelchair basketball competitions between the Banner Wheelchair Suns of Phoenix and the Ilan Ramat Gan team; a teen young ambassador program, where teens from both cities participate in an exchange program; and shared biotechnology research, Ben-Ami says.
The Phoenix Ramat Gan Sister Cities Founders Committee is seeking volunteers to help coordinate programs and find funding sources, Wolf says.
The committee is also encouraging membership in the Phoenix Sister Cities Commission, a nonprofit organization that is funded through contracts with the city and membership. Membership is $35-$250.
"I think it's a wonderful opportunity to create more connections between the city of Phoenix and the citizens of Phoenix and citizens in Israel," Wolf says.
"It's not a Jewish community project," says Ben-Ami. "It's a citizens of Phoenix project."
Contact the Phoenix Sister Cities Commission, 602-534-3751 or visit www.phoenixsistercities.org or e-mail the JCRC, jcrc@jewishphoenix.org.
|
|
