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IINTERNATIONAt I
Letter from Jsrael
Cleveland group builds bridge to Israeli city
By Christopher Johnston
B
ElT SHE'AN, ISRAEL - Until a few months ago, Dror Moredechi, a gro-
cery store owner outside of Beit She'an, Israel, probably never thought ht
would feel closer to people from Cleveland than to some of his own relative;
But that changed after June 19,2003.
At about 6 a.m. that day, his father, Avner, had never met before Robert Goldben
was reading his Torah at the front counter of chairman of Ohio Savings, and the mli
the store, when a 'Palestinian man entered, behind the program's initiation, told then.
acting nervously. When he started to exit, they had to work together to strengthen tm
Avner confronted him, and the man deto- region and better serve its 17,000 residena
nated the bomb wired to his body, destroy- One of the program's goals is to brin!
ing the store and killing both men. Israeli together the diverse interests represented in
police believe he was there to attack the the region, connecting people who live on
school bus that passes the store around 6:30 the kibbutz communities with those in the'
every morning, but had arrived too early. city, recent immigrants from Russia or
When I met with him last Thursday, .Morocco to long-time Israelis, religious with
Dror proudly showed me his father's Bible, secular Jews, and so on.
which was the only thing to survive the The partnership has also established a
blast. A bookmark indicates he was reading variety of exchange programs with
a passage from Genesis about sacrificial Cleveland organizations. For example, stu-
goats. When Dror asked how to interpret dents from Cleveland's Agnon and Solomon
the passage, his rabbi told him that Avner Shechtet schools enjoy relationships with
had sacrificed his life so that the school two schools in Beit She'an, and children
children could go on with theirs. from Beit She'an annually visit Cleveland in
Dror remains obvious- March, while Cleveland
ly shaken; as he quietly children travel 'to Israel
discusses the incident If you speak in May. The JCF has also
through an interpreter brought members of the
inside the new store, con- English in Beit Cleveland House staff to
struction of which should Northeast Ohio: Among
be completed by the end She'an, residents those, Nitzan Aviran,
of the year. Presently, he executive director, visit-
runs a temporary grocery are likely to ask if ed with individuals from
out of a trailer in the
parking lot, and he chose
you are from the Small
Administration,
Business
as well
to rebuild because it's the
only way he can support
Cleveland. as Howard Gudell, pres-
ident of the Ohio-Israel
his family. Finding the Chamber of Commerce,
money to do so, however, would have been and David Yen, executive director of the
nearly .irnpossible without the help of the World Trade Center Cleveland.
Cleveland House, an economic development "We are open to any kind of economic
office established in 1995, when the Jewish development and ways to help entrepre-
Community Federation of Cleveland OCF) neurs," Aviran says. "So having access to
decided to make Beit She'an a "Sister City." those kinds of resources helps us create
A significant portion of the 200,000 shekels business in the region." He adds that com-
the organization gave Dror for the new store mercial activity has increased 10 percent
came from Cleveland, which donates more annually since the partnership was estab-
than $500,000. annually to this region known lished. In fact, JCF's presence is so preva-
as the "Land of the Palms" because of its lent that if you speak English in Beit She'an,
numerous date-palm trees. residents are likely to ask if you are from
At the time the JCF established the con- Cleveland.
nection, Beit She'an was "just a crossroads," More recently, Goldberg brokered rela-
says Alan Gross of the federation, later that tions between Beit She'an and businesses in
evening at a special reception for a delega- Jordan, which lies directly east across the
tion from Cleveland at the recently opened Jordan River. Residents like Miri Davidovin
Guest House. The luxurious facility is the remember having to wear shoes to bed in
first hotel in the region, although it will pri- case they needed to dash to the nearest bomb
marily serve as a youth hostel. With shelter, prior to the 1967 war. Today, admir-
Cleveland's help, the city is trying to bolster ing the city lights twinkling across the valley
its tourism trade by finding ways to keep on the mountains where Jordan's artillery
people in town overnight, not just as a quick once stood, she hopes the growing econom-
stop to see one of the largest archeological ic connections between the two nations will
sites in Israel. help bring peace.
As throughout all of Israel, new construc- Late Thursday, after presenting the out-
tion can be seen just about everywhere in going mayor with an attractive gold menorah
Beit She'an, again thanks primarily to the and stained glass window representing Beit
work of the JCF partnership. The palm- She'an, Fran Immerman, chair of ]CF's
lined Menachem Begin Avenue even features People to People programs and a frequent
a new boutique mall with a kosher visitor to the region, echoes Dror's feelings:
McDonald's. In addition to money, the "For Israelis to know there are Jews in
group has been instrumental in the area's Cleveland who care deeply about them is
resurgence through making connections. pretty significant, especially when you feel
For starters, the city and regional mayors the whole world is against you. So we all
- Israel's local government structure - have a lot of family here now." •