Politics and laughter build bridge between Morristown mayor, Israelis

by Robert Wiener
NJJN Staff Writer

They came together as three elements of the “living bridge” between the people of Israel and the Jewish community served by United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey.

And in spite of a language barrier, officials from Ofakim and Merchavim and the Catholic mayor of Morristown found common ground in the challenges they face and the things that make them laugh.

The officials met Nov. 18 for more than an hour in a conference room at the Morris County Office Building. Representing Israel were Avi Asraf, the mayor of Ofakim; Avi Bitan, director of the city’s educational department; and Avner Mori, head of the regional council in the complex of agricultural settlements called Merchavim.

They received a dose of municipal politics, American-style, from Morristown’s chief executive, John DeLaney, as part of their weeklong visit to New Jersey.

Apologizing for “a little bit of a crisis” that involved an underground fire and a set of exploding manhole covers that knocked out electricity and snarled traffic in parts of his city earlier that morning, DeLaney jokingly told his visitors he hoped “we won’t have to evacuate this building before the meeting is over.”

Describing himself as “very much of a wise guy,” the mayor turned to his guests and said, “I’m sure things are very quiet and peaceful in Israel. You don’t have problems like this. You think it’s fireworks when you hear noise.”

And he offered his guests a dose of partisan humor. “I am a Republican in an all-Democratic town. I jokingly say the Republican symbol is an elephant, and the Democratic symbol is a donkey. But I love Democrats — because I’ve been elected by a bunch of asses.”

Saluting Asraf for “looking like a mayor,” DeLaney said he especially admired the Ofakim executive’s smile.

The Morristown mayor wondered whether, like his city, the Israelis’ communities were also ethnically diverse.

Translating rapidly between English and Hebrew was Orli Dudaie, the executive shliha at UJC MetroWest, which arranged the meeting as part of its relationship with the Israeli towns through Partnership 2000, a twin-city arrangement. “Everyone there is Jewish, but it is very diverse,” said Dudaie, answering in English before translating DeLaney’s words into Hebrew. She said that many residents of Ofakim and Merchavim were born in far-off places including Morocco, Yemen, India, and Tunisia.

“As mayors with cities with diverse populations, do you find it hard to govern?” DeLaney asked. “Many times I’m the only guy who looks like vanilla in the room, and I’m curious if you find that.”

“Generally most of the people get absorbed very well,” Dudaie said. “The only challenge is in the Ethiopian community. Their challenges take more time and are very different. It is just 2 percent of the population, so we are able to deal with that.”

She noted that when they first arrive in Israel, immigrants receive a good amount of government aid at absorption centers, but that such assistance is stepped back and eventually withdrawn after 10 years.

“It is good if everyone could adapt themselves perfectly, but some populations — mainly the Ethiopians — it takes longer. Not all the problems have their solution after 10 years.”

DeLaney learned that his Israeli guests had their origins in Yemen and Morocco. “You really do have salad mix there,” he said. “Is religion the glue for the people?”

“Not necessarily the religion, because a lot of the immigrants are not religious,” said Dudaie.

“It is the people more than the religious practice,” interjected Lori Price Abrams, director of the MetroWest Community Relations Committee. “All of Israel is responsible one for the other. There is the sense that if there are troubled Jews in Ethiopia, that if there are troubled Jews in the former Soviet Union, or Argentina, or the United States, in Israel the door is open.

“And sitting here in MetroWest, that’s what motivates us, too,” she said. “We don’t provide help only to Jews in the community, but that is our primary mission.”

Sigal Drori, the director of the Partnership 2000 program, who accompanied the three public officials from Israel to MetroWest, also put in a plug for the program. “There are some challenges in the educational system, There are some places where the economic system is low,” she acknowledged. “Our partnership steps into the picture.

“We have a great relationship between us,” she continued. “We have a living bridges project which is the soul of the partnership — delegations from Israel to MetroWest and from MetroWest to Israel. This is the soul of the partnership; it is not just that money comes from one place and goes to the other place.”

DeLaney responded with a family story.

“One of my brothers delayed going to college for a year and worked on Greek oil tankers” he said. “We are always taking strays from Europe — 18-year-olds or 19-year-olds will live with us for a year, and it’s a great way to build international bridges when you have contacts all over the world. You can’t get that from just giving money.”

As he leafed through briefing papers on the Partnership 2000 program, the words “Israel Tennis Center” caught the Morristown’s mayor’s eye.

“I’m a big tennis player,” DeLaney announced.

“We invite you to come to our center in Ofakim,” Drori responded. “It is the best center in all of Israel, and the people in MetroWest support it.”

“I don’t like to lose,” said DeLaney. “We Americans don’t like to lose.”

“If you come, we will let you win,” Drori promised.

There are currently 14 branches of the tennis center, an organization whose international board is chaired by a Maplewood businessman, Alan Goldner, the husband of past MetroWest president Ellen Goldner.

Alan Goldner has touted the centers as “safe and secure places” for Jewish, Druze, and Arab young people.

According to Dudaie, alongside the tennis courts in Ofakim is a computer center “where they train the kids in a combination of education and sports. They can learn computer skills and have help there. It is not just playing tennis. It is a center for all the kids, all the people in the city to come.”

DeLaney told the group he was preparing to step down after his second term. “I went to church and the priest said, ‘For your punishment you will serve as mayor for eight years,’” he quipped.

“How after eight years are you still smiling?” asked the Ofakim mayor, who has been at his job for only two.

“I love my town,” said DeLaney. “When I went away to college and law school I was very homesick.… I love helping people. I love working for the town. It’s where I live, but I’ve also learned you cannot please everybody; you just do your best.”

DeLaney told his audience the story of a fellow parishioner at his church. “For years he wanted his road fixed. I finally got his road fixed. I’m dying to go to church, have him put his arm around me, and have him tell me how much he loves me and thank me.

“But he put his arm around me in church, and he said, ‘Mayor, you’ve got to do something about the speeders and the inline skaters.’ You can’t win.”

Robert Wiener can be reached at rwiener@njjewishnews.com.

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