Chairman Giora Salz
Upper Galilee Regional Council
Kiryat-Shmona
10200 Israel
Upper Galilee
The friendship between the Upper Galilee region and the county of Ludwigsburg has existed since 1983 and is thus the oldest partnership in the county. In 1997 it was officially sealed with the exchange of partnership certificates.
The Upper Galilee region is located in the hilly north of Israel on the border with Lebanon and is known for its excellent wines. The region with its many kibbutz communities is characterized by agriculture and cultivates a special community life.
There are many joint projects between our county and Upper Galilee. These include projects in nature conservation, artistic and musical projects, educational work as well as hospital-related projects. We have a particular focus on encounters between young people. Four schools in the county[1] have a partner school in Israel and regularly exchange students. At the regular teacher seminars, the participating teachers on both sides also receive new impulses for the organisation of exchanges and for handling our common history.
The Pedagogical-Cultural Centre (PKC) (http://www.pkc-freudental.de/) in Freudental is a former synagogue that has been completely renovated and now serves as a meeting place for people of different cultures and beliefs. Thanks to its continuous and excellent work, it is known far beyond the borders of the county. Young people in particular use this institution to get to know and understand each other. Because encounters promote the reduction of prejudices and xenophobia.
The cooperation agreement between the Ludwigsburg-Bietigheim gGmbH clinics and the ZIV Medical Center in Zefat was signed in June 2015. Since then, reciprocal (in some cases, lasting several months) secondments of specialists and maintenance personnel take place.
For some years now, artists have also taken part in the annual Spätlingsmarkt in the autumn and been able to present their work. Here, visitors to the market also have the opportunity to get closer to Israeli culture in conversations and make friends.
