Visit to Israel - Chemnitz delegation visits Kiryat Bialik
Mayor Sven Schulze and a delegation from Chemnitz will be visiting the Israeli city of Kiryat Bialik next week, from 2 to 5 May.
The aim of this trip is to find out more about the city and to hold various talks with a view to initiating a possible town twinning with Chemnitz. The city of Chemnitz has received a corresponding enquiry from Kiryat Bialik.
There have been various civil society links between Chemnitz and Kiryat Bialik since 2009. These were initiated primarily by the Jewish community with Dr Ruth Röcher and Prof Rafael Wertheim. These contacts have since been strengthened by many visits by artists from Israel to Chemnitz and groups from Chemnitz to Israel. In 2020, there was an online chess tournament between athletes from both cities during the pandemic.
In 2019, the Chemnitz City Council decided to strive for a partnership with an Israeli city (BA-063/2019). This decision is now to be implemented after the pandemic.
Among other things, the Chemnitz delegation will take part in the Israeli Independence Day celebrations there. In addition to a reception with Mayor Eli Dukorsky and members of the city council, the group will also establish contacts with the skilled trades, education and business sectors.
The delegation from Chemnitz consists of the Lord Mayor, two city councillors, one city councillor and the chairwoman of the Jewish community in Chemnitz, Dr Ruth Röcher.
Kiryat Bialik is an Israeli town near Haifa with a population of just under 40,000.
It was founded in the 1930s by German immigrants.