Opsterland, a rural community in Friesland in the north of Holland offering a high quality of life, leisure pursuits and a solid economic foundation to its 29,000 residents, was the first city to sign a sister city agreement with Raanana in May 1963. In recognition of this long-standing relationship, Raanana named the street housing the main post office after the city of Opsterland.

Over the years, there have been many reciprocal visits by municipal officials and residents, as well as youth, cultural and sport exchanges. These include visits by the Opsterland Youth Orchestra in 1996 and reciprocal visits by the cities’ women’s football teams, with the Opsterland visit taking place in 1998, Israel’s Jubilee Year. In March 2000, Raanana hosted a visit by the Mayor of Opsterland, Mr. Wil Cornelis, accompanied by the city’s Communication Manager, Mr. Jan van der Heide.

In November 2006, the Mayor of Opsterland,
Mr. Sicko Heldoorn, visited Raanana with a municipal delegation which included City Council members, an adviser and a local journalist. Mr. Heldoorn met with the
Mayor of Raanana, Mr. Nahum Hofree, city council members and senior municipal representatives to propose trilateral cooperation in the area of environmental quality between
Raanana, Opsterland and Beit Sahour in the Palestinian Authority.

In May 2009, a municipal delegation headed by Mayor Francisca Ravestein visited Raanana. The delegation met Mayor Nahum Hofree, senior municipal representatives and members of the International Relations Committee. Mayor Ravestein presented Opsterland's interest in renewing their cooperation with Raanana. Mayor Nahum Hofree invited the delegation to lay a wreath at  the Yad Labanim Memorial Room for the fallen soldiers of Raanana.
Afterwards, the delegation visited the Raanana Park, Beit Issie Shapiro and the Founders Museum where they were told the story of  Raanana since its foundation. During the visit at the Raanana Park, the delegation was also treated to the official opening of the Smells and Sounds Garden for people with special needs. Finally, the delegation stopped at Opsterland to take a picture next to the Opsterland street sign.

Photography Exhibition:  Raanana – Opsterland – Beit Sehor

Raanana’s twin city in Holland has initiated a joint photography exhibition for the three cities to encourage co-existence and neighborly relations between the nation

Raanana Mayor:  “Leaders sign peace treaties between nations, but real peace is made by people”

The city of Opsterland in Holland initiated a unique joint exhibition with its two twin cities:  Raanana and Beit Sehor, in order to encourage neighborly relations and coexistence between the 2 groups living in Israel.  The photography exhibition is currently on display at the municipal building in Opsterland and documents the lives and experiences of the residents of the three cities.  It presents the points of similarity and difference in the daily life of the three cities using photographs of similar sites and situations, such as:  students on their way to school, green spaces and parks and the city hall.

Raanana is proud to take part in the artistic project and has recently hosted a delegation of representatives of the city of Opsterland who visited Raanana in order to document the municipal work in photographs for the exhibition.  The delegation representatives met with Mayor Nahum Hofree and visited different sites in Raanana, including the Founders’ Museum, Yad Labanim, Raanana Park and Beit Issie Shapiro.

The Raanana Mayor participated in the grand opening of the exhibition that was held at the municipal building in Opsterland recently.  Also in attendance were both the Mayor of Opsterland, Francisca Ravestein and Beit Sehor Mayor, Hani Al-Hayik.
The Raanana Mayor emphasized that “Leaders sign peace treaties between nations, but real peace is made by people”

The exhibition is expected to come to Israel and be hosted in Raanana and the Mayor has invited the Mayors of the other two cities to stay in Raanana for a visit when the exhibition is on display.

In the photo: From right to left: Raanana Mayor with Mayors of Beit Sehor and Opsterland unveil the exhibition photographs. Personal photograph