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by Shiryn Ghermezian
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner, left, and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai shake hands for a photo taken during Wegner’s visit to Israel in February 2024. Photo: Senate Chancellery Berlin.
The capital of Germany will form a city partnership with Tel Aviv in an agreement that will be officially signed during Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai’s visit to Berlin next month.
Berlin made an announcement about the agreement on Friday ahead of Huldai’s trip to the city on May 5. Berlin already has 18 twin city partnerships, including with Brussels, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Jakarta, Kyiv, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mexico City, Moscow, Paris, Beijing, Prague, Tashkent, Tokyo, Warsaw and Windhuk.
“In recent years, there have been many efforts, including from my predecessors, to conclude a partnership between Berlin and an Israeli city,” said Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner in a released statement. “I am very pleased that after extremely trusting and intensive discussions with my counterpart from Tel Aviv, Mayor Ron Huldai, and representatives of the Israeli city, it has now been possible to agree on a twinning between Berlin and Tel Aviv. We can now deepen the long-standing and cordial connection between the two metropolises and fill it with even more life.”
Wegner noted the similarities between the two cities and added that through their partnership, Berlin and Tel Aviv will together tackle the rise of antisemitism. He highlighted how Berlin played a monumental role in the Holocaust, saying it was the city “where the Shoah was planned and enforced,” and said it has “a special responsibility and obligation towards Israel and to protect Jewish life in Berlin.”
“Especially in these challenging times, we set an example for diversity, cohesion and humanity,” Wegner stated.
Berlin’s state parliament unanimously approved a motion to establish a twin city partnership with Tel Aviv on March 28. The motion was jointly introduced by the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
Wegner, who is a member of CDU, was elected as the mayor of Berlin on April 27, 2023. He visited Israel in February 2024 for a solidarity visit, and was praised by Huldai for his “strong support of Israel” and “moving” commitment to helping to bring home the hostages abducted by Hamas terrorists from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
