Promote City-to-City Exchanges And People’s Friendship

Israel and Turkey loom large in world historythe biblical “Promised Land” of the Hebrews and the proud civilization of Asia Minor， linking three of the major religions of the world ― in the region sometimes called West Asia.

Despite the long distances， the Chinese people have maintained friendly exchanges with the people of West Asia since time immemorial. In recent years， as the China-Israel and China-Turkey relations have developed more rapidly， more than ten pairs of friendship province and city ties have been established respectively between China and the two countries.

With the purpose of pushing forward the work of city diplomacy， at the invitation of the Union of Local Authorities in Israel (ULAI) and the Turkish-Chinese Friendship Association (TCFA)， the CPAFFC organized a visit to the two countries by a nine-member friendship delegation in December 2010.

“A Photo Tells More Than a Thousand Words”

It was the first visit for most delegates. The ULAI and the TCFA tried their best to ensure everyone saw as much as possible of their countries. Mr. Moshe Sinai， Acting Director of the International Relations Committee of ULAI， reminded us of the old Israeli proverb: “a photo is worth more than a thousand words” when he met with the Chinese delegation. He hoped that we would get to know about Israel from various perspectives. Within nine days， the Chinese delegation covered seven Israeli cities and two major cities in Turkey， namely， Istanbul and Ankara.

Great ancient civilizations were created in this region. Present-day Israel and Turkey attract visitors from all over the world.

The West Wall and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem tell us of the confrontations of different faiths. The exquisite buildings in Jaffa reflect people’s love for life. The relic city sites in Akko give people a vivid image of urban life in those ancient days. The Bahai Gardens in Haifa show the courage of innovation. In Turkey， the “Blue Mosque” and old palaces represent the unmatched glory of the Ottoman Empire. The stones of St. Sophia Cathedral reflect the old stories of Christianity and Islam. Sailing along the Bosporus Straits is like watching the unfolding of beautiful pictures of Asia and Europe on the two sides. Visiting the Ataturk Memorial Hall in Ankara one learns the history of the founding of the Republic of Turkey.

The amazing and peculiar cultural heritages of Israel and Turkey are treasures of humankind.

Building the Country on the Basis of Education

What impressed us most in Israel is that education is considered top priority. The mayors of Zemer and Ariel take pride in introducing the academic and scientific achievements made by their universities. Education is the key to Israeli national construction to create young people with the power to push forward social evolution.

In the city of Savyon， we were attracted by the “paper-free education” in the school. All textbooks are input into students’ lap-top computers. Teachers also use computers and projectors in class for asking questions. Students are divided into groups to have discussion and give their answers by computer. In this way， students only need to carry their laptops instead of a bag of heavy textbooks to school. It is also worth mentioning that the school in Savyon has set up an “Animal Corner” for those students who lag behind in intellectual development in the hope that they will recover through looking after small animals.

City-to-City Cooperation for a Better Future

The main task of the visit to Israel and Turkey is to promote cooperation between localities. In Israel， Guan Hongwei， Honorary President of the Haikou Municipal People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries held talks with Pini Badash， Mayor of Omer and officials from Akko City， and reached consensus on conducting friendly exchanges. Wang Guijun， Vice Mayor of Golmud of Qinghai Province and leaders of Kiryat Malakhi City agreed to revive contacts and explore the possibility of cooperation in various fields on the basis of their friendship-city relations. In Turkey， TCFA President Kemal Baytas made arrangement for the signing of a letter of intent for establishing friendship-city relations between Golmud and Mardin city in Turkey.

During the visit， leaders of local governments and friendship organizations in Israel and Turkey expressed their wish to deepen their cooperation with China. The Chinese delegation gave positive response and stressed the wish for attaining common development on the basis of mutual benefit and carrying on the friendship generation after generation.