Fili’s world

Visiting the Israeli city of Ra’anana today I was surprised to see a sign on the entrance to the city with “Tainan, Taiwan”. Seems Ra’anana, one of Israel’s youngest most livable cities is Tainan’s sister city.

I think it’s kind of strange since I’m quite sure that only a few in Raanana would be able to point out Taiwan on the map. Interestingly enough, my brother told me last week that his Israeli IT company that’s located at the near by silicon valley manufactures the chips with TSMC located at Tainan’s science park so there are a few Israelis traveling back and forth between Ra’anana and Tainan, but I doubt that has anything to do with this surprising link.

I looked it up and this what I found. From “The Representative of Isreal Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, Mr. Raphael Gamzou and Press Officer Mr. Howard Lin met with Tainan City Mayor Hsu Tain Tsair” :

Mr. Gamzou was impressed by the achievement and development of Taiwan. On the topic of the interrelation between Isreal and Taiwan, Mr. Gamzou hoped to see more substantial interaction between Raanana and Tainan City in the near future. He suggested the two cities to interact more frequently in the fields of commerce, culture and education. He also mentioned his willingness to provide necessary resources, advices and assistance for Tainan City to enhance the mentioned interactions.
Mayer Hsu shared to Mr. Gamzou with his experience visiting the Raanana City in Israel. Mayer Hsu led a delegation team in July 2006 where he experienced the friendliness of Israeli, the excellent living standard, and development of the Raanana City. Mayer Hsu stated his expectation for the visit of the Mayer Hofree of Raanana which would be upscaling the interaction between the two sister cities. He mentioned the topic of economic interaction with the example of new production plant near the Raanana City by Taiwan Winbond Electronic Corp, which also had facilities in the High-tech Industrial Park in Tainan. Mayor Hsu was confident that there were rooms for continuous growth in trades and modern technologies between the two cities.

From the Ra’anana website :

Following an initiative by the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei to twin the cities of Tainan, Taiwan and Raanana, a sister city agreement was signed during a visit to Tainan by the
Mayor of Raanana, Mr. Zeev Bielski, and a municipal delegation in October 1999. The agreement states that both cities see the sister city relationship as making an important contribution to strengthening peace, tolerance, cooperation and confidence between the two peoples.

Tainan, in southern Taiwan, is a city rich in history, culture and traditions with a thriving high-tech and academic center. The most important academic institution in Tainan City is the National Cheng Kung University, founded in 1931. Tainan has invested significant resources in establishing its high-tech business park, the Tainan Technological Industrial Park, second only to Taiwan’s Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park.

Close cooperation exists with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv. In July 2006, the Mayor of Tainan, Mr. Hsu Tain-Tsair, headed a delegation to Raanana for the reciprocal signing ceremony with the Mayor of Raanana,Mr.Nahhum Hofree. During his visit, the Mayor of Tainan opened an exhibition of ancient Chinese art at the Mishkan, that was mounted with the cooperation of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv.

I guess not much has been done together so far, but it makes for a nice story. I wonder if I can help that happen in any way.