The mayor of Ra’anana, Israel, Nachum Hofree, thinks his city could benefit from learning how Atlanta organizes its public-private partnerships for economic development, he told GlobalAtlanta in an interview at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 17.

Mr. Hofree said he also wants to learn how the Metro Chamber facilitates business for its member companies. Although it is a high-tech center, the city of Ra’anana, which means “refreshing,” does not have a chamber of commerce, he noted. Located in central Israel, Ra’anana is a Sister City of Atlanta.

“Ra’anana has a special spirit of cooperation. When you are in Ra’anana, you know it. But we do not have organized cooperation between the private businesses and the public city like here,” he said, referring to Metro Chamber corporate members working with the City of Atlanta and the state for economic development initiatives.

Mr. Hofree was in Atlanta for the CIFAL Atlanta Sister Cities Conference, a meeting organized by the United Nations affiliate that brought representatives from 12 Sister Cities to Atlanta Oct. 19-20. While here, Mr. Hofree met with the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Metro Chamber and other organizations.

Ra’anana is a high-tech center in Israel and is home to various technology firms that have U.S. headquarters in Atlanta, including Amdocs Israel Ltd., dbMotion, NICE Systems Ltd. and Retalix Ltd.

The city has developed as a technology center because of its proximity to Tel-Aviv, a large business hub with an international airport, Mr. Hofree said. He added that Delta Air Lines Inc.’s non-stop flight between Tel-Aviv and Atlanta is important for attracting more companies to Ra’anana and for allowing Israeli companies to have better access to Atlanta and the Southeast United States.

Ra’anana is also located adjacent to Herzliya, a center for venture capital firms, where start-up technology companies are formed, he added.

While Ra’anana does not yet focus its public education system on teaching technology skills, a team of students participated in an international competition for robotics that was held in Atlanta this year, Mr. Hofree noted.

He said that U.S. businesspersons are settling there because of the tax incentives the city offers new companies, plus the city’s well-developed education system and quality of life.

The Open University of Israel recently relocated there, fostering an atmosphere focused on education, said Mr. Hofree who was principal of Ra'anana's high school and head of the education division for the city before being elected mayor in September 2005.

Contact Mitch Leff for more information about Mr. Hofree’s visit at (404) 861-4769. Visit www.cifalatlanta.org for information about the Sister Cities conference.