The Flotilla - Just flush.

There is lots of detritus in the Mediterranean these days. Unfortunately much of it floats from the Cyprus area toward Gaza. There is a clear need to flush it.

Let's make some points here. Hamas has been in a constant state of war with Israel. International Law clearly allows blockades of countries who are engaged in a state of hostility. How do we know about the hostility? It is quite simple. Hamas has rocketed and terrorized civilians in Israel, a legally recognized country in the world community, for its (Hamas's) entire existence. The organization charter denies the existence of Israel and vows to destroy "the Zionist entity." This clearly gives Israel the right to blockade Gaza in order to prevent the importation of weapons that it would use against its citizens. Israel is not denying humanitarian aid shipments and has been allowing Gazans access to health care in Israel.

Ships approaching Gaza have been invited to off load humanitarian supplies at the Israeli port of Ashdod for inspection and then overland shipment into Gaza. If the supplies were entirely humanitarian there would be no need to try to run the blockade. It is that simple.

Argentina and Israel Together

My acquaintance Carlos Z. is from Argentina. His family escaped from Nazi persecution during the Hitler era and settled there.

1. Beersheba, Israel and La Plata, Argentina are sister cities.

The city of La Plata was founded by Dardo Rocha on November 19, 1882. It is large parks, avenues, and many squares. La Plata is home to the National University of La Plata, an educational institution that is known throughout South America. It has a total of five sister cities, including Louisville, Kentucky in the United States.

Beersheba, Israel is a large metropolitan area of more than 1/2 million people with diverse cultural backgrounds. It became a part of Israel in 1948, and is known as the capital of the Negev.

2. Eilat, Israel and Ushuaia, Argentina are sister cities.

Eilat is sometimes called the Miami of Israel. It is a beautiful resort city at the southern-most part of the country. It is home to 65,000 people.

Ushuaia, the capital of Tierra del Fuego (land of fire), and is widely thought of as the southern most city in the world. It is home to 64,000 people.

3. Haifa, Israel and Rosario, Argentina are sister cities.

Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe. With 1, 159,00 residents it is the third largest city in Argentina. It is also, like Haifa, a port city. Water access is via the 34 ft. deep Parana River.

Let's be a sister to Sderot

Sderot, Israel has been rocketed and mortared by Hamas and its allies from within the Gaza Strip since 2000. Thousands upon thousands of rockets have landed. Check out http://francona.blogspot.com/2009/01/sderot-israels-rocket-city.html

I would like an American city to be Sderot's sister. I just started trying to get Fayetteville, North Carolina to be that sister city. North Carolina is a whole state that has no sister cities. Check out my editorial in the Fayetteville paper at www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2010/04/30/994852

If you like peace, I am certain that Sderot can accept more than one sister city. Let me know if you want to try pushing the sister city concept. It would be great if the 30 states and the territories (including Washington, DC) that have NO communities in a sister city arrangement picked Sderot.

Turkey and Israel

Some say that relationships between Israel and Turkey have deteriorated. Let's say, give peace a chance by continuing sister city relationships that already exist. Remember, we are the real united nations.
1. Beersheba, Israel has a sister city in Adana, Turkey.
2. Hod HaSharon, Israel has a sister city in Izmir, Turkey
3. Tel Aviv, Israel has one of its 27 sisters in Izmir, Turkey

Noladeti La Shalom!!!

Remember Entebbe?

I forget how long ago. Some folks were hijacked by terrorists, who landed the plane at Entebbe, Uganda. Then Dictator Idi Amin Dada helped the hijacking terrorists by providing security and holding airline passengers under difficult conditions. Israel mounted a rescue operation. One of the rescuers died, but the passengers were saved.

Who are sister cities now? Ashkelon, Israel and Entebbe, Uganda. There's the love and forgiveness. Wow, that is very inspiring!

Peace means having a sister city in Israel.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has a friend in Israel

Kfar Saba in Israel has a sister city relationship with Maracaibo in Venezuela. Bravo!

Thanks for contributing to world peace!

Vive la France!

France is not in the Middle East. However, it is home to one of the largest Muslim populations in Europe. At times, some of its politicians act fearful of fundamental Islamists. However, its communities recognize that Israel has its place in the world. No less than fourteen French communities and towns have a sister city/community in Israel.

1. Acre, Israel has a sister in France. La Rochelle has loved Israel since 1972.
2. Ashdod, Israel has a sister in France. Please make a toast to Bordeaux.
3. Beersheba, Israel has a sister in France. Meilleurs souhaites a Lyon!
Beersheba is the seventh largest city in Israel, with a population of 186,100. There are more than 550,000 people in the metropolitan area. It is often referred to as the capital of the Negev. It became a part of Israel in 1948, captured by the Israel Defense Force from a massed Egyptian army force after the Arabs rejected the UN Partition Plan which would have given the city to the Arabs. The city experienced its largest growth after 1990 when it absorbed emigrants from Ethiopia and the Soviet Union.
Lyon is situated between Paris and Marseilles. The residents are known as Lyonnais. The population of Lyon is 473, 300 or so. It is the second largest metropolitan area in France. Lyon is a business center. It is also known for its gastronomy, cinema, and football (aka, soccer).
4. Haifa, Israel has a sister in France. Harbor some love for Marseille.
5. Holon, Israel has a sister in France. J'aime meiux Suresnes
6. Nahariya, Israel has a sister in France. A votre sante, Issy-les-Moulineaux! Issy-les-Moulineaux and Nahariya have been sisters since 1994. It is 4.1 miles from the center of Paris. The commune was originally called Issy. Theories abound concerning the origin of the name, but the main one is that it was once the chateau of a Roman-Gallic landowner. Some think that it has a Celtic derivation meaning "under the wood." It was once a location for windmills, hence the name les Moulineaux was added (moulin is French for windmill). One of the best things to know about the area is that there are more jobs there than there are residents (Can we say "commuters" go there?). Nahariya is a coastal city of about 51,000 people in the Northern district of Israel. Nahariya gets its name from the beautiful Ga'aton River that run through the middle of its main east-west street, Ga'aton Boulevard. Unfortunately, the city is 6 miles from Lebanon. From July to August 2006 hundreds of Katyusha rocket were launched by Hizbullah and its allies from southern Lebanon, resulting in five fatalities and some serious damage. However, the city has nearly achieved its former appearance, and remains a great vacation resort.
7. Netanya, Israel has two sisters in France. Je vous aime Nice et Sarcelles.
8. Ramat Gan, Israel has a sister in France. Vive Strasbourg!
9. Ramat HaSharon, has two sisters in France. Dunkirk et Saint-Maur-des-Fosses.
10 Rehovot, Israel Vous presentez une soeur en Francais. Grenoble
11. Tel Aviv has two sisters in France. Toulouse et Cannes.

Tel Aviv Is A Star

Tel Aviv is easily the largest city in Israel. The city is home to Israel's stock exchange, and about 2 million people. It started as sand. The name means, Spring Hill. It is not surprising that Tel Aviv has 27 sister cities. It is not so surprising, perhaps, that it has a partnership with Los Angeles, California. There is one big surprise. This surprise is so huge, that it beats the efforts of the United Nations, and the negative publicity about Israel. If you don't love this surprise, I will be shocked.

Tel Aviv became a sister to Gaza City in the Gaza Strip in 1998. It retained its contract with Gaza City in 2008, even after thousands of rockets and bombs were launched from the Gaza Strip on Sderot in the southern Negev. Check the report in Haaretz http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/952850.html

Be surprised, and be happy.

Positive United States Involvement With Israel

There are 20 states that have a direct relationship with Israel in some way. Some states have more than one city that is a sister to a community in Israel. Some American cities have a relationship with more than one community in Israel. No President can stop communities from being a sister/brother/friend to a community in Israel.

I'll list the states, with some annotations. If your state is not on the list, you might want to find out how you can have your community hook up with a community in Israel. When you do, send the President a note.

1. Alabama - Mobile
2. Arizona - Phoenix
3. California - 4 cities/communities
4. Connecticut - 3 cities
5. Delaware - Wilmington
6. Florida - 7 cities Has lots of Jewish retirees/snowbirds that have been to Israel. I hope that none vote for President Obama at the next election.
7. Georgia - Atlanta. It has a huge Jewish population.
8. Illinois - Chicago. The hometown of the President Obama. I hope he becomes one of a few candidates that looses his home state during the re-election.
9. Kansas - Kansas City I know, part is in Missouri.
10. Maryland - Baltimore Too close for the President's comfort.
11. Massachusetts - Boston
12. New Jersey - Teaneck, not Tea Party.
13. New Mexico - Albuquerque
14. New York - 5 cities. New York City is a sister for Jerusalem (and others). Being a sister to Jerusalem should be familiar to most people. New York City has the largest section of Arab government outside of the Middle East. Yup, that's correct, its called the United Nations.
15. Ohio - 4 cities
16. Oregon - Portland
17. Pennsylvania - 4 cities
18. Tennessee - Chatanooga
19. Vermont - Burlington
20. Washington - Seattle

When the State Department reads this, all of those states are going to have their federal aid revoked unless they disown their sister communities in Israel. Change we can all buy into, right?

Perhaps not. You might have to raise the terror alert status though. Those Arab Middle Eastern States play dirty.

If you want to join the club of friends of Israel, you might work on getting your community to partner up with a community there. I would suggest Sderot.

Palestinians and Israeli's Working Together

Arad is one of those remarkable cities that was a late addition to the state of Israel. That does not mean that it does not have ancient origins. It was a city in biblical Canaan that was known as Tel (hill) Arad. There are still ruins near the site of the modern city.

The Yishuv, a group of Jewish residents in British Mandate Palestine, tried the first modern settlement in Arad with 9 men and 2 women in 1921. That failed after 4 months because of a lack of water. The Israeli Oil Company Nefta started the city in July 1961 by building 6 temporary shelters following the discovery of a large quantity of oil. The town blossomed after November 21, 1962 when there was an official ceremony. The town absorbed immigrants from the Soviet Union, some English speaking countries, and from Latin America. It was officially declared to be a city in 1995.

In 2005, there were 23,300 people there. Eighty-two percent were Jewish, and 17.2% were other, non-Arab citizens.

There was a history making event in 1991 when then Mayor of Arad, Besalel Tabib and Walid Dajani, a Palestinian representative of Bethlehem visited Burlington, Vermont and signed a three-way sister city agreement. This was the first of its kind with a Palestinian representative.

Arad has two other sister cities: Wilmington, Delaware (USA), and Dinslaken, Germany.

The Real United Nations

There is no security council. There is no Human Rights Council. There is definitely no General Assembly. Israel is always welcome as a partner. People love and respect one another.

The real united nations needs no building, no parking lot, and no name calling. There is a kinship between communities of people around the world. The people in the kinship know that we have to live and work together.

Here, we have it. It exists on this big blue marble that orbits around the sun. The beings on it have souls. Some know how to connect with one another, and some don't. Some of us work on trying to get along better than others.

It is quite amazing to learn how few people know about the real united nations. My sister/brother city may be in a country where the government does not get along with another government. However, the people want to try, no matter what happens in their government.

It is not anarchy, but it is not government. The real united nations are friends. Let it be so.

This Tugs At My Heart

I was researching sister cities in Israel when I came across something that literally put a lump in my throat. The association and irony were so surprising that my heart told me that I had to start a new blog about it.

There are 41communities in Israel that have sister communities and cities around the world. Thirty-three communities have at least one sister community in the United States. The one that surprised me was the association between Yokneam-Megiddo and San Borja, Peru. Yokneam was founded in 1935, before the independence of Israel. It is located in the Galilee on the eastern slopes of Mount Carmel. The town has a population of about 18,000 now.

In November 1981, an eight-day old infant named Dara was put into our arms in Lima, Peru and will remain in our hearts (my wife and I), forever. We lived in San Borja, a suburb of Lima, Peru as we adopted her. The large pink house at 123 Calle Rousseau was home to the Noltes family. This was a family that opened their home and their hearts to many Americans who adopted children through the Catholic agency of Los Padres de La Preciosa Sangre. Everyone knew that we are Jewish, and that Dara would be raised Jewish. We were still family to them.

A year later we were home in Goldsboro. It was a snowy morning when two cousins of the Noltes family came to check on Dara. They wanted to make certain that she, and her family were doing okay. Folks like that are great to have as friends.

That lump in my throat connects Dara, San Borja, and Yokneam, Israel. Yokneam is also connected to Atlanta, Georgia and St. Louis, Missouri. The town of Yokneam is small compared to other world communities. Yet, Yokneam also has sister communities in Barnet, United Kingdom; Main-Kinzig district, Germany; and Shenyang, China.