Israel, Philly Connect
with Sister Cities
Selah Maya Zighelboim | JE Staff
O n the front page of the Oct. 28, 1966 issue of the Jewish Exponent,
a photo of David Ben-Gurion declaring Israel’s independence in
Tel Aviv sits next to a painting of Congress declaring indepen-
dence in Philadelphia.

The photos accompany an article about a change in Philadelphia’s
relationship with Tel Aviv that has remained strong to this day. The
day before the issue ran, the Philadelphia City Council unanimously
passed a resolution authorizing the establishment of a sister relation-
ship between the two cities, the second such relationship Philadelphia
established — the first being with Florence, Italy in 1964.

“Tel Aviv is many things to many people” the article said. “It is a city
of wide boulevards — Rothschild, Allenby and others. It is also a city of
narrow streets clogged with hornblowing, stationary automobiles. It is
a city of beautiful buildings; it is a city of ramshackle houses, decaying
before they reach a score of years. … But Tel Aviv has another distinc-
tion; it will soon be Philadelphia’s sister city.”
Over the next several decades, Philadelphia established sister
city relationships with eight other cities around the world, but the
relationship with Tel Aviv stands out as one of the most active,
Participants of the 2017 men’s mission in Netivot pose for a group picture.

A new place with new friends can still feel like home.

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