50 years of diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel

Saxony-Anhalt invites you to an evening reception in Tel Aviv

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel in 2015, the state of Saxony-Anhalt invites its partners from economics, politics and culture to a reception on Sunday, 7 June 2015 in Tel Aviv. Rainer Robra, Minister of State of Saxony-Anhalt, and Emmanuel Nahshon, spokesman for the Israeli foreign office will welcome you.

“Saxony-Anhalt and Israel are closely linked, above and beyond the diplomatic relations: in history, culture, music, philosophy and economy. Saxony-Anhalt previously had large Jewish communities, namely in Halberstadt, which characterised the life of the society. We find their loss through the NS terror particularly painful. Today, Jewish life is flourishing again in our cities and communities. So I am particularly happy that such a wonderful occasion brings us together today“, says Rainer Robra, Minister of State of Saxony-Anhalt.

Both countries are bound in music, by artists such as the world famous virtuoso pianist Menahem Pressler, born in Magdeburg, who also founded the legendary “Beaux Arts Trio, and Kurt Weill, one of the most successful classic composers in Germany on Broadway. Culturally, Saxony-Anhalt and Israel also have Moses Mendelsohn, one of the most important philosophers of the reconnaissance (born in 1729 in Dessau) in common. In his tradition, today the Moses Mendelsohn Academy in Halberstadt and the Moses Mendelsohn Association in Dessau are dedicated to the history of Jewish life and Jewish culture, in the area of today’s Saxony-Anhalt. The Bauhaus school is also at home in Saxony-Anhalt and in Israel: Form follows function – that was the basic idea of the Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius. 90 years ago, Gropius developed the Bauhaus style in Dessau, which revolutionised architecture. Today however, the largest collection of Bauhaus style houses is in Tel Aviv. Another reason for the reception for the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel, to take place in a Bauhaus building - the Cinema Hotel.

“Today, the contacts in the area of economics are also positive”, says Dr. Carlhans Uhle, Managing Director of Investitions- und Marketinggesellschaft Sachsen-Anhalt mbH, which is organising the reception. “Palram Industries Ltd. based in the Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan, is a German-Israeli success story. Palram produces plastic sheets, has its German site and European trading hub in Schönebeck, and has been able to increase the number of employees to 45 people in the last few years. A further example of success is Israel Chemicals Ltd. The company is a world market leader, and produces flame retardants in the chemical park Bitterfeld-Wolfen“, says Uhle.

Other examples of the cooperation are Befer GmbH from Halberstadt, which was involved in the "Mount Carmel" tunnel building project, while FAM GmbH from Magdeburg produced the conveyor systems for a gypsum plant in Israel.

Even in science, Israeli companies look to Saxony-Anhalt. “SHL from the sector of services for telemedicine is equipped with mobile outreach clinics from Schönebeck, and works closely with the Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg. DenTack Implants (Ltd.) and the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg have also joined forces: in the summer of 2014, a research cooperation was started between the manufacturer of dental implants from Kfar-Saba and the university clinic. Halle is investigating an innovative implant system of the Israelis in a study“, continues Uhle.

In addition, since the start of the diplomatic relations in 1965, Germany and Israel have been bound by a firm network of town partnerships, friendships and contacts. Almost a hundred in number and counting. “This development reflects the increasing importance of communities in the last decades, with the implementation of sustainable international projects and developments. Town partnerships are active communal foreign policy. In contrast to classic foreign policy, it is not states and international institutions facing each other as protagonists, but rather national institutions and the civil society on a regional and communal level“, says Robra. In Saxony-Anhalt the cities of Burg and Tira, and the municipalities of Unstruttal and Lehavim are connected. A further partnership is now arising: for some time now, there have been contacts between Osterburg and Meitar, and a delegation of local politicians from Saxony-Anhalt is currently in Israel.

Contact:

Investment and Marketing Corporation Saxony-Anhalt
The economic development agency of the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt
Tanja Ruedinger
Project Manager International Press & PR
Tel.:  49 391 5689976
Fax:  49 391 5689950
E-Mail: tanja.ruedinger@img-sachsen-anhalt.de
Internet: www.invest-in-saxony-anhalt.com

Investment and Marketing Corporation Saxony-Anhalt (IMG)

IMG is the economic development agency of the German federal state Saxony-Anhalt. IMG staff provides all services related to new business sites. In addition, we are marketing Saxony-Anhalt both nationally and internationally and developing tourism concepts.
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