Albuquerque and Rehovot Officially Become Sister Cities
by Robert Efroymson
President, Jewish Federation of New Mexico

Perhaps you have paused for a moment in an airport.  You look into a vitrine expecting to see the wares of a local artist, or some information on the history of the area.  Inside is a small plaque announcing that Albuquerque and Rehovot are now Sister Cities.  "How nice" you think, "I wonder what that means".

Recently a small group of business and political leaders traveled from New Mexico to Israel to inaugurate that new Sister City relationship. Thanks to the tireless efforts of  Harold Albert, the Mayors of both cities, our own Martin Chavez, and Rehovot's Shuki Forer agreed to establish this formal friendship.    As we sat around a table in his office in Rehovot, Mayor Foer made an important comment.  He noted that the signing of the proclamations, and the exchange of gifts was not the significant part.  The bit that matters is what comes next.

Albuquerque and Rehovot have many things in common, most particularly both cities are the site of excellent research facilities.  We have Sandia Labs, Rehovot has the Weizman institute.  Our tour of Rehovot included the Weizman campus, where we saw the Solar energy research tower.  It looks very familiar to anyone who has toured Sandia, or even flown over it on the way into the Sunport.  A group of mirrors concentrate sunlight, and can aim it at various ports in the adjoining tower, where experiments are installed.

Israel and New Mexico are both blessed with abundant sunshine, and the scientific and engineering talent to harness it.  It would be a fine tribute to each of the new Sister Cities if we could develop new means to benefit from these advantages.  While the price of a barrel of oil has recently dropped below $70, it is clear that the challenge of finding the energy to fuel our economy is not going away.

Another area in which our cities could benefit from cooperation is in the area of water.  Israel, like New Mexico, is a desert environment, and both have persistent difficulties in ensuring adequate supplies of clean water for cities, farms and industry.  The agricultural faculty of Hebrew University is located in Rehovot, and has experience in drip irrigation, and the use of brackish water.  Like Israel's Negev, the southern reaches of New Mexico lie atop vast reserves of salty water, which cannot be used in ordinary farming, but can be used to water salt-adapted crops.

Will New Mexico become a solar energy powerhouse, with our solar electric facilities side by side with greenhouses using brackish water to produce salt-adapted tomatoes?  It may be a dream, but we can all help make it a reality.

A few days after the visit to the Weizman institute, the State of New Mexico hosted a group of Israeli investors at a conference in a Tel Aviv Hotel.  The presentations were good, especially one by Yaacov Fisher, on the Israeli economy.  It was the first time I have seen an economist present information so clearly, and without putting his audience to sleep.  However, the most exciting part was the exchange of contact information afterwards.  There were people looking for partners in the manufacture of avionics wiring, and the development of intelligent parking meters, to name just two.

While this was my ninth trip to Israel, it was definitely not an ordinary one.  To be part of a real working mission to Israel was both exciting and inspiring.  It made me proud not just as a member of our local Jewish Community, but as a citizen of New Mexico.  I am truly looking forward to witnessing the fruit it will bear.

I strongly urge anyone who has an interest in getting involved with this project to contact Richard Buckler via email: President@albuquerque-sister-cities.org