From 13 to 15 May 2018, District Mayor Sören Benn, members of Berlin’s district council and Freundeskreis Pankow Ashkelon made a joint visit to Ashkelon.

1. Presentation on the joint visit of the district office,
members of Berlin’s district council and
Freundeskreis Pankow Ashkelon (13 – 15 May 2018) at the
committee on town twinning, cultural and economic
affairs
*

2. Ines Koenen Vorstandsvorsitzende des
Freundeskreises Berlin-Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

3. Ines Koenen – chair of Freundeskreis Berlin-
Pankow Ashkelon e.V.
*
* District mayor Sören Benn (The Left)
* Members of the district council and citizen deputies:
* Mathias Kraatz (The Greens)
* Maximilian Schirmer (The Left)
* Wolfram Kempe (The Left)
* Stephanie Wölk (SPD)
* Johannes Kraft (CDU)

4. Ines Koenen – chair of Freundeskreis Berlin-
Pankow Ashkelon e.V.
*
* Members of Freundeskreis Berlin-Pankow Ashkelon
e.V.:
* Ines Koenen (chair)
* Stefanie Gronau (deputy chair)
* Stefan Krause (treasurer)
* Matthias Köhne (former district mayor)
* Marcel Krümmel
* Oskar Lederer

5. * Image und Wandel der Stadt
* Staatsgründung: Zionismus, brennende Reifen
und ein notfallzentrum
* Kultur, Bildung und Sport
* Menschen und Begegnungen
* Fazit für 2019: 25 jähriges Jubiläum der
Städtepartnerschaf(en)
Ines Koenen Vorstandsvorsitzende des
Freundeskreises Berlin-Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

6. *
* Reason for visiting Israel:
* Israel = threat, war and (military) self-assertion
* For Palestinians: 15 May = 70th anniversary of
Nakba Day: displacement and Israel’s founding
Ines Koenen – chair of Freundeskreis Berlin-
Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

7. * Meeting of mayors: Mr Tomer Glam und Mr
Sören Benn
* Interest in the town twinning project
* Bunker (Emergency Command Center):
Strategic measures in crisis situations: planning
and implementation – Dr Alan Marcus
Ines Koenen – chair of Freundeskreis Berlin-
Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

8. Ines Koenen Vorstandsvorsitzende des
Freundeskreises Berlin-Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

9. *
* Modern age: modern and fast growing city
* Idea of tourism: marina, apartments, proximity
to Gaza (12 km)
* Alternative to Tel Aviv
* Costs of living and quality of life
* Now: bedroom community near Tel Aviv
Ines Koenen – chair of Freundeskreis Berlin-
Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

10. Ines Koenen Vorstandsvorsitzende des
Freundeskreises Berlin-Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

11. Ines Koenen – chair of Freundeskreis Berlin-
Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

12. *
* Culture and education
* Worldwide celebrity: Ilana Shafir
* Immigrant from Croatia
* Home = museum and educational venue:
destiny of an immigrant
* Founding of the school – mosaics on the basis
of Kabbalah
Ines Koenen – chair of Freundeskreis Berlin-
Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

13. Ines Koenen Vorstandsvorsitzende des
Freundeskreises Berlin-Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

14. *
* Visiting Makif High School
* All-day school (leading to A-levels)
* Teachers and artists = together
* Interested in setting up a school partnership
Ines Koenen – chair of Freundeskreis Berlin-
Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

15. Ines Koenen Vorstandsvorsitzende des
Freundeskreises Berlin-Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

16. *
* Development work at the kibbutz:
* Be eri: 5 km from Gaza
* Vivian Silver: activist
* Profit-based kibbutz: army
* Printing house: tickets, chequebooks,
advertising envelopes
Ines Koenen – chair of Freundeskreis Berlin-
Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

17. Ines Koenen Vorstandsvorsitzende des
Freundeskreises Berlin-Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

18. *
* Yekkes: Israelis of German origin – image: they
are extremely tidy, well organized and get very
old
* Freundeskreis: meeting Hugo Haase‘s great-
great-granddaughter
* Biographic work: oral history
Ines Koenen – chair of Freundeskreis Berlin-
Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

19. * 25th anniversary in 2019
* Dual approach: municipality/town halls +
civil-society level
* The association: Freundeskreis Pankow Ashkelon:
sport camp with Prenzlauer Berg’s sport youth
association and Alba
(planning is underway)
* Exhibitions
Ines Koenen – chair of Freundeskreis Berlin-
Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

20. * 25th anniversary in 2019
* Conceivable:
* Visit from Ashkelon
* School partnership
* Tri- or bi-national sport
camp
* Chronicle/photo exhibition
* Exchange socio-psychiatric
service
* Community centres
* Feasible:
* Cultivating and
expanding existing ties
* After the elections in
Ashkelon (Nov. 2018)
Ines Koenen – chair of Freundeskreis Berlin-
Pankow Ashkelon e.V.

21. Ines Koenen – chair of Freundeskreis Berlin-
Pankow Ashkelon e.V.