10/29/2025
Israeli Mayors Laud Connections with Federation, Cleveland
Itamar Matiash, mayor of Valley of Springs in Israel, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne and Noam Juma, mayor of Beit Shean in Israel. Submitted photo
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News.
by Ellie Evans
Two newly-elected leaders of Beit Shean and Valley of Springs, Cleveland’s sister cities in Israel, visited Cleveland as part of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s Mayors’ Delegation, which took place Oct. 19 through Oct. 26.
Noam Juma, mayor of Beit Shean, and Itamar Matiash, mayor of the Valley of Springs, have led their city and regional council, respectively, for over a year-and-a-half. During their most recent visit to Cleveland, Juma and Matiash said their connections with the city began to form long before they held leadership roles in Israel, and they hope to continue strengthening these ties.
They spoke to the Cleveland Jewish News through Dorit Natan Lavy, director of Partnership2Gether, Cleveland/Beit Shean/Valley of Springs partnership, who translated from Hebrew to English.
“My connection with Cleveland started many years ago, when I met a graduate of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s program, ‘248,’” Juma said. “Since being exposed, I’m now connected deeply to Cleveland forever, and I have met Cleveland in many places in which an impact was created. It seems very natural that current leadership is connected to Cleveland, and I have no doubt this will be true of future leadership, because there is a very strong relationship.”
Matiash said his connection with Cleveland began 30 years ago. 10 years ago, he said came to Cleveland on a delegation when he started working as the head of demographic growth in the regional council, a position which was supported by Cleveland.
“I came here to learn and to see models that exist in Cleveland’s St. Clair-Superior neighborhood,” Matiash said. “That was the first time I learned about the connection between Cleveland’s Jewish community and the city itself. It was also the beginning of turning the 20-year-old partnership into a sister city relationship.”
Matiash said the partnership has exposed him to many important programs, and ever since he became mayor of Valley of Springs, Cleveland’s emergency and security aid to the region post-Oct. 7 has been “meaningful.” He also said him and Juma were recruited to defend their country on Oct. 7, 2023, and the support from Cleveland was two-fold.
“As I left (to go to the army that day), I got phone calls and text messages from friends in Cleveland, and it made me feel like I was not only fighting for Israel, but for the whole Jewish people,” Matiash said. “So, for one, we knew someone cared about us. On the other hand, there was a lot of need in the community, and Cleveland supported us during this challenging time, like by helping us build missile shelters.”
Juma said it was June when the Iranians attacked, and during this time of year, Beit Shean is very hot, so people were avoiding hot shelters.
“Cleveland donated mobile air conditioning, which helped people breathe in the shelters,” Juma said.
Juma said many visitors come from Cleveland to Beit Shean and Valley of Springs, and he would like to see more people come from Beit Shean and Valley of Springs to Cleveland to volunteer, learn about each other and strengthen the connection.
“I also want to create connections with businesses from Cleveland that may want to come and invest in Beit Shean,” Juma said. “I want to open new markets for them in our region.”
Matiash said the regional council has a very diverse population, and managing this is part of their day-to-day responsibilities.
“We try to create a joint story, and I’m hoping this is something we can bring to Cleveland,” Matiash said. “I feel the connection between us and Cleveland can help people rise above their differences.”
Both Juma and Matiash thanked the Jewish community in Cleveland, and said the people are very welcoming.
Matiash said the partnership is “unconditional,” and “an alliance.”
Juma said he does not know what the future of the partnership holds, but he does not want to limit the dream.
“Cleveland is a home away from home,” he said.
