In what is a first time ever for Middletown, Mayor Tony Perry and Ofakim, Israel Mayor Itzik Danino will hold special ceremonies Monday, January 6 at 11 a.m. to officially become Sister Cities.
The celebration symbolically unites the cities each mayor governs whose residents have both felt the impacts of terrorism.
The ceremony, which will include county, state and federal officials, as well as the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest, NJ, will take place at Middletown Township Hall at 11 a.m. Monday, January 6, when the Mayors will sign a sister city pact. The ceremony will take place in the Main Meeting Room. Parking will be available in the main lot on the Town Hall side of the building (not at the police station).
Ofakim, which is in southern Israel, was infiltrated by Hamas forces on October 7 during the Hamas -led attack on the country. Twenty-seven residents , including six police officers, were killed in the attack before armed residents, and off-duty soldiers battled the militants until IDF reinforcements arrived.
While no terrorist group has invaded Middletown, Perry noted the township had lost 37 residents during the 9/11 bombing of the World Trade Center where dozens of township residents worked. and the township still feels the impacts of that day.
The Middletown Mayor first met his Israeli counterpart last January when he visited Ofakim following the aftermath of October 7. As a result of their communities’ experiences with terrorism and grief, the mayors quickly built a friendship. This sister city agreement will represent the two cities’ commitment to fostering cultural, educational, and economic bonds.
With about 40,000 residents and located in the southern district of Israel, about 12 miles from Beersheba, Ofakim was originally a Bedouin community destroyed in the 1948 war. It became a municipality in 1955, spanning approximately four square miles.
Through work and determination, the city rose from economic difficulties to a development town with new factories and major development. It is home to generations of Jewish refugees expelled from Egypt in 1956, as well as Jewish families from Iran and immigrants from India and Romania.
The primary employer is the construction industry though agriculture and textile factories also employ many local residents. While Ofakim has suffered severe financial setbacks in the past, under current Mayor Danino it has made economic comebacks and has become a more thriving and productive city continuing to grow and prosper. The town has several public parks and schools.
