for for we e e spe [Music] for for e e e [Music] spe e e for for many times this week for e this one to e e [Applause] and we are ster show the artwor that you did that's being presented today Rel [Applause] symbolism so we very repr has amazing talent [Applause] how e [Applause] thank you Jake you got a check myint time wait wait [Music] wait guys this way Mom okay so where you I will ask you to lead us you have well if you remember I pledge okay e [Applause] now [Applause] I trust you let's hope it's [Applause] okay give me your name I have it down there Regina r e g i n w 11 okay so it's not Regina Fox Okay Regina W I always confuse those two yeah spe he's here [Applause] f [Applause] pi [Applause] [Music] go ahead [Music] [Applause] [Music] let's just come over here so you're not behind the we will Howard how are you long time oh no everybody I went up oh I was in Israel in Jerry watch out Jerry Jer and with Mr piso's friend she brought but it's it's been I don't know you retired oh my God absolutely we all do [Applause] a e [Applause] going to call us [Music] order yeah let's get it going little morning that's what I understand I sign [Music] yes [Applause] how are you I was here this is fabulous wait see the I'm gonna ask good good morning good morning everyone if we could ask everyone to take their seats we're going to get started momentarily yeah that's him with the red tie right here no I can't get it from my phone and if we can't we can't all right right here if if we could oh I [Applause] got can you turn the handheld on testing testing what respect the one on the podium huh no the one on the podium works let's try to get everyone up [Music] good morning if we could have everyone take their seats we're going to get started Paul it's working good morning huh I'll add him we got to use that for the national anthem good to see you too thanks for coming all you're saying it's just the noise that's to leave in 10 minutes get everyone up here de Rachel Rachel Das now right there if we could have everyone please take their seats we're going to get started right now not it's just that it's loud in no that one that one's for video where do you want the the first suits are taken and even the senator and the mayor don't have places so B we need to move we'll move move people yes yes you clearly see yep Fortuna can I have you slide back to the second row we just need we need the first row second take your seats please seats please we're going to get started right now like when we do pictures we're move I want people to put your PS that [Applause] okay good morning everyone let's call this meeting to order I'm asking for a roll call Mayor Weinberg here vice mayor Dr Marx here commissioner Bloom here commissioner fredin here commissioner Joel here commissioner Cruz here commissioner Stern is absent Mr Watson here and Mr Myers here you have a Corum thank you today is a day of first as a matter of fact in our 29e history we've never started a me meeting late but today we did it to honor [Laughter] Israel at at this time we're going to have the presentation of the colors face ands Regina wolf from our aventor high school aventor DS silver high school if you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance after that please remain standing for the national anthems of the United States and Israel go ahead I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all please post please post go order colors post colors Ley please Center Face Forward March [Music] by the [Music] so at the Twilight last leave me who Stripes said and bright St through the par SP all the r part we watch was so love the streaming and The Rock the boms and now G through through the mind that all were still there that [Music] stop get away oh the V of the free and the home [Music] of the [Music] haika Co Lord believe [Music] [Music] love in [Music] let so Fe [Music] on day H not by L I'm she [Music] [Applause] [Music] SE home [Music] [Applause] she [Music] see sh [Music] thank you thank you God Bless America and God bless Israel thank you so much beautifully done by an Israeli American thank you [Music] Hadas now invitation by rabbi St act to follow our father in Heaven El God of all life we come before you with hearts filled with gratitude as we bless the partnership between our city the Holy City of Aventura and the City of Mim in this dark dark time for humankind may you inspire us to stand unwaveringly on the side of life goodness and peace open our eyes so that we may never lose sight of the distinction between Darkness and Light Between curse and blessing between Terror and freedom grant us the wisdom to always choose life over death to see the sacredness in every human being regardless of race religion nationality or ethnicity bless our leaders with integrity and moral Vision uniting them in the pursuit of justice and compassion May our city continue to be a beacon of righteousness spreading its light and love Beyond its boundaries to those in need May the ambulance that we are dedicating this morning soon be needed only to transport mothers joyfully bringing forth healthy children rather than rescuing victims of Terror bigotry and hatred May the dream of peace and vision by Israel's founding leaders and by your prophets soon be realized where Nations shall not lift swords against one another and War shall be known no more May the one who makes peace in the heavens Grant peace to us to all the people of Israel to all the world Amen shalom shalom amen amen we have uh several dignitaries here this morning and I want to make sure that um we give a mention to them so if Evan Ross if you can um recognize some of our guests good morning we apologize in advance if we miss anyone there are a lot of incredible people with us today uh want to start with our United States Senator Rick Scott Israeli council General Mao Bas starinski Deputy Council General from Israel Mike driz Cil of Israel Ellie Gil Alan deid Ambassador and head of administration for Latin America for the Israeli foreign Ministry on behalf of congresswoman Debbie waserman Schultz lur Flink Senator and Democratic leader of the Florida Senate Jason pizo state representative Christopher Benjamin state representative Randy fine former state representative and Miami Beach commissioner David Richardson former state representative Joe Saunders on behalf of Mayor Daniela line Cava Melanie Burke on behalf of clerk of the courts Juan Fernandez baren Diana Rodriguez former state representative JC plis Miami dat County Commissioner Mickey Steinberg assistant director of the Miami Dade Police Rosie Cordo stuts former School Board member Dr Martin karp North Miami Beach commissioner Fortuna smuckler Pembrook Pines vice mayor Tom good from Sunny Isles Beach mayor Lissa speten and commissioner Fabiola stent Bay Harbor Islands mayor Josh Fuller Florida City Commissioner Walter Thompson all the way from Florida City former Aventura mayor Enid Weissman former Aventura commissioner lose Weinberg former mayor of bal Harbor Gabe Gman former mayor of Surfside schlomo danzinger incoming CEO of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation Scott Kaufman Miami Day Jewish community relations Council chair MOJ Kagan Daniel assistant executive director of Israel bonds Melanie Weinstein from boytown Jerusalem Gary arnowitz from hatala of South Florida Andre Reitman and from mend doome Jessica Nasim who you'll be hearing from later thank you all for joining us this morning thank you Evan okay please raise your hand if you were not recognized you see why I wanted Evan you see why I wanted Evan to do that I do want to say it's personally thring for me that um two of my three children are in town right now so my boys Anton and Adam thanks for being here buddies Daddy loves you okay we have a resolution so we're up to item number three I'll ask the clerk to read the resolution a resolution of the city Commission of the City of Aventura Florida establishing a sister city relationship with modin maab beim Israel to promote education informational cultural and economic exchanges providing for implementation and providing for an effective date I need a motion to approve commissioner Joel seconded by commissioner Bloom we're going to um take comments first from uh the commission comments or questions um I have a few words I wanted to say first of all I want to say good morning and batov it's really um it's really a great morning not a good morning um we are thrilled to be here today to formalize our sister city relationship with Modine and to cut the ribbon with the on the uh MDA ambulance that we are sending to Israel um I want to be clear and unequivocal a Torah stands as a beacon of unwavering support for Israel a testament to our shared values I could not be more proud that we were the first city to post on social media a statement in support of Israel it was prior to 8:30 in the morning on October 7th I'm also proud that on October 9th we were the first city to have a rally supporting Israel and their right to defend themselves our city the city of Excellence Aventura we are Guided by passionate zionists we not only celebrate the values that Israel and America share but we also embody them at their very core we love Israel and we love being Americans and I'm clapping to that [Music] Modine is famously home to the macbes who led a successful Revolt to free Juda from King anti AIS about 2200 years ago give or take the story The mabes is celebrated every year at Hanukkah it's not just a celebration it's a reminder of history for Millennia the Jewish people have called is real home our history is one of resilience and fortitude marked by countless challenges and triumphs we have seen our land taken our temples destroyed and yet we've always found the strength to rebuild this is the spirit that the mccabes embodied and this is the spirit that we celebrate and honor today the mccabes not only successfully rebelled but they rebuilt since October 7th Israel has not been the same not only have lives been taken but those who live on suffer the ripples of the attack and the ongoing War mayor bbus let these words ring loudly and clearly when you return home aventor stands with Israel today we stand with Israel tomorrow and we will stand with Israel forever let me be clear there is no moral ambiguity in this city this sister city relationship has been more than a year in the making we've always been proud to stand with Israel but never prouder than we are today the bond between our city and the state of Israel is unbreakable today we strengthen that Bond formalizing ties to one of Israel's oldest cities modin we have a little bit in common the two cities they're halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv we're halfway between two biblical cities Fort Lauderdale and Miami you may be a little shocked to um learn this but both cities have a majority Jewish population Modine has been home to some truly special people who have also called at some point aventur their home maor our Council General his predecessor leor leor left to become the spokesman for the foreign Ministry and he's now the head of the North American Division and Israel's prior Deputy Council uh Casa to put it simply this s sister city relationship is Basher it was meant to be we look forward to exchanging ideas successes and learning experiences with Modine I look forward to visiting Modina on my next trip to Israel just want to make it clear I will not allow avator is taxpayers to fund that trip but I can't wait to be in in Modine I want to thank a few special people who were critical in making this happen first Council General Moore Elbas starinski former bal Harbor mayor Gabe grman and of course mayor bibus and your staff I also wantan I also want to point out that this idea of having a sister city in Israel the ball got rolling on that um when I was a City Commissioner the the the concept was hatched and um uh Enid Weissman my predecessor mayor was the mayor at the time so thank you Enid we're proud to call mod our sister city we look forward to celebrating many successes together for generations to come God Bless the USA God bless Modine God bless the state of Israel and of course God bless [Applause] aventur I'm Israel high thank you I'm going to jump out of order because very important people have very important places to be and we are honored that senator Rick Scott is here today I'm going to ask him to come up and say a few words but I do want to tell you I'm not a math major but by my count since October 7th this is the third time that the senator has been here in our city as a result of our relationship with Israel thank you sandor thank you did this one this work okay good morning mayor vice mayor Commissioners mayor council General my friend uh all of you I get to work with a lot of you in my past jobs and this this job most important thing I think is we all need to um stand with Israel this is this is a great day this is what we ought all ought to be doing let's figure out how we build more relationships with Jews how do we build more relationships with Israel so I want to thank everybody involved in getting this done um I I can tell you the United States stands with Israel we've got a we've my heart goes out to um you know as you all know I'm not Jewish I don't get it all right I do not understand why anybody would be anti-jew I don't know why anybody would not support the state of Israel it doesn't make any sense to anybody that I know of uh so the um so the most important thing is I've got a nice title right now do you got to make sure is there anything I can do to help you all U that's my job uh but I'm going to stand up against anti semitism I'm going to stand up for Israel we'll do everything we can um the uh DC is a is a place that believes in the state of Israel believes in supporting Jews we've got to do everything we can so it's nice to be here and have a wonderful day so Senator I know that your chopper is outside but the um my Commissioners have asked if you can come up here very quickly for a group picture thank you and uh the next thing we'll do is I'm going to ask my Commissioners for any comments they have after we take a picture with the [Music] senator all right look right over here for me one two three just like that beautiful is anybody else yes let me get out of the way than okay any comments questions on this resolution by any Commissioners uh I see commissioner Joel did you have a comment okay uh yeah I would just like to say that for many years we talked about a sister city because I was commissioner years ago in 2003 2004 and so forth and we always talked about I am so happy that finally we have settled and I it's going to be a wonderful relationship and good luck to the city of mly M thank you commissioner Bloom but let me just say that if you notice this seat here this is commissioner Michael Stern we love Michael Stern he wants to be here very very very badly he has some health challenges he's fighting through them we support him 100% he loves us he loves Israel he loves aventur and we love him and he has served for 48 he's in about his 15th year of service as a sitting commissioner right 11th year of service so I bump it up a little bit we um and we I want to recognize the fact that commissioner Michael Stern is with us commissioner I just wanted to make a quick comment that I actually have family that lives in modin I have aunts and uncles and cousins so when I send them the photo with us that we took earlier they're going to be very excited um and I just wanted to say thank you for making the trip all the way over here to our city it's very humbling and I'm very excited about this relationship commissioner Cruz do you want to make a comment oh everyone's deferring okay vice mayor I'm going to Def okay this is why there has to be a mayor now I got a pick okay eenie meeny miny mo okay commissioner Cruz I'd like to welcome everybody to this uh special commission meeting we're very very proud in this city of uh what we're able to accomplish when we see the incredible political polarization that's going on in our country uh the one thing that unites us all Democrats Republicans no matter what background what faith is that we all love the state of Israel why because we know that the state of Israel shares our values our morals and our objectives our love of Freedom our support and our U unending support of Human Rights women's rights minority rights and all the things that we value which is why when you see all the marches that are going on on on the many of the major cities of the US and on college campuses the one thing you see is that not only are they carrying Palestinian Flags supporting Hamas but they are burning and desecrating American flags so we must all understand that Israel's fight is our fight Israel is is the front line on the war on terror and the tip of the spear for Western Civilization defending what we believe in so today as we have you here uh mayor bibus you have a beautiful city my wife Marian and I have been there uh quite a few times it's gorgeous it's very much like Aventura uh you take incredible care of your young children of your elderly you have assisted living facilities you have excellent schools like we have uh you have a train that connects you to between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and other places like we have a train so that connects Us North North and South so we share a tremendous amount but most importantly we share in our love of freedom and our love of uh camaraderie and doing good in the world Israel is a light unto the Nations and that's why it was must always be supported uh the courage and resilience that the Israeli people have shown and the C do attitude is really INSP irational to all of us and we hope you will continue and we pray for the people of modin which have suffered immeasurably as well as the people of Israel we pray that you stay strong and we know that while we are not there you are doing the heavy lifting but just know that our hearts and our prayers are with you our brave Soldiers the H Alim of the IDF and the people of Israel and we will always stand with you thank you vice mayor just very briefly I want to thank all of our distinguished guests for coming today most importantly I just want to mention that October 7 was a day of horror there's no other way to describe it and yet within just a number of days everything changed and the tenor went to supporting the people who actually did the terrorism except in this city where we knew unabashedly who we are and what we are and what we believe in and so I I would just like to thank the entire Commission because there was no conversation about what we were going to do we were going to stand United Support the people who were terrorized and not the terrorists and we thank you for everything you do every day to help us to do that so we thank everyone who's here thank you so much commissioner freedland tuna Lam to heal the world is the sacred Mission all Jews are tasked with a calling that resonates deep within our souls today we are taking a profound step forward we're bringing our world closer together and uniting aventur with Israel Modine in an unbreakable Bond through this new partnership we are not just talking about tun Alam we are making it happen as we send a mandavid ambulance to Modine this is a tangible Act of healing for those in need a symbol of our unwavering commitment to life since October 7th life has been challenging all around the world it has been filled with pain and uncertainty while aventur has stood tall and proud in our supportive Israel I can tell you that my oldest son has been walking through a college camp campus with filled with anti-Semitism a campus that has enabled and endorsed it a betrayal of the values that we all hold dear yesterday Northwestern University's president testified in front of Congress I listened to the chilling moments ones that Shu me to my core listening to the leader of One of America's most respected academic institutions conveys utter failure to protect our Jewish students on campuses and makes me wonder if my son needs to come home or he needs to come back to a place like aventur where he can feel safe and he can be embraced with his identity without fear home in our city of aventur means being in a place with moral Clarity a Beacon of Hope in a world that is often shouted in darkness home in aventur means a place where everyone is protected regardless of who they are or where they come from aventur means we have an environment of tuna Alam and these are not just words these are actions that resonate with us through generations today aventor and Modine begin a partnership that will Outlast all of us a legacy that of unit United in compassion that will Echo Through the Ages I couldn't be prouder to be part of a strengthening the ties to Israel and working with mayor bias in our shared values and shared ideas this past summer I was in Israel with my own family when I had the chance to connect with mayor bias and discuss how we would make this partnership work to everyone the people of Israel will live our spirit and aventur for Israel will never distinguish and let us all say Together amra Al High [Music] [Applause] mayor we um we share one other thing too we're both mayor himim my Hebrew name is himim so we share that as well um I would love um if you'd honor us modin mayor Heim bbus if you could come up and say a few words thank you sir [Applause] thank you very much good morning everyone Senator Scot left US senator Jason piso mayor of aventur May Howard vinberg Council General MO elinski is my resident you know he PID for you the the the the tax but you know he live in and Jessica of Rabin uh honored guests it is my honor to be here today I would like to thank you for your support both public and private your support is deeply appreciated the United States of America the Jewish communities and especially Aventura once again proven to be friend of the state of Israel and the people of Israel thank you your friendship and support help us to to be more prepared for a face any challenge uh the effect of the terrible Massacre and attack on our communities in at the sou that took place on October 7th are not over 1,000 and 500 Israelis were killed innocent were murdered babies children women and elderly 240 people were taken out by kamasu Gaza and are still held in uh captivity 128 people civilians and soldiers babies children women and elderly have been held in captivity by Hamas for more than 7 months it is living Nightmare and it is hard to comprehend that this is the reality that's is why it is our top priority to bring them home to their families and to defeat Kamas one of the reason we need to show the atrocities to the world uh because we think the West could be next what happened in Israel will happen in other cities around the world it is our duty to warn others in order that they can be prepared we as as Mayors are responsible for our resident safety in routine and emergency situation and will continue to train finance and coordinate those effort and work closely with all the relevant emergencies Services the the Israel Defense Forces the police the fire department the National Emergency Medical organization like mid and others modim is the leading City in Israel but didn't established in 1993 the late prime minister led the Cornerstone to the nearest city in Israel in uh August 96 the first resident came into the City and in 2003 the small town of makab and United together to the last city of mod and we are home now to 106,000 resident and we are adding between three to four new 4,000 new Resident every years the city leads in Innovation and technology and it is the first smart and digital City in Israel using smart technology to provide resident with the highest level of services the cities I socioeconomic level attract a professional and successful population who form a a cohesive combination of religious and seculars and successfully absorbs immigrant o from all over the world most of them from United States of America more than 90% of our youths uh recruited the Israel Defense Forces is the highest percentage in the country is the the certain years and 60% of them uh enlist in uh to to to to uh to be a a comat in a spatial unit and spatial brigades 16% of them is double from the average of of the state of Israel became an officer the leader of the Israeli Defense Forces you know in routine time it's very proud for me to stand every years with the chief of Israel Defense Force to to receive the certificate of male and female soldiers recruit to the the highest recruit uh uh more than 60% of them became combat in spatial unit and brigades and and you know the officers in routine time is very proud for me in emergency situation is very hard and very a pain because we lost more than 25 soldiers in the war of hyon SW and this is the excellencies this is the the the people who support and who give us the the opportunity to exist in the existence of the state of Israel education is a top priority uh which 50% of the Cities B that is allocated we invested more of most of our budget in educational system with one of the best educational system in Israel we work to hard to maintain a very high educational standard which you serve as a as a base for for excellence and we serve as a core value of the future partnership between our two cities between aventur and B our young people understand the of contributing to the community participating in the wide range of youths and volunteer volunteering activities motivation to volunteer is very high with a thousand of Resident volunteering in over 90 Aid organizations for many years the municipality of mod makim has worked in a full cooperation with the Mada with m vion we have a a built a strong relationship and they hold the great importance in maintaining and strengthening this relationship again VI uh is one of the oldest largest and the most prestigious volunteer organization in the city contributing so much to the community in saving lives about 7 100 adults and about 400 teenager volunt with M VI and very soon construction of a permanent building for Mada will be completed and inaugurated in a strategic City location but is one of the most requested organization that our youths volunteer for uh you know um I can give you a lot of example about the the the the young people who Volunteers in the Mada and save a lot of life of people in the city and surrounded the city of modada he's the largest and most significant National Emergency Medical organization in Israel with over 200 stations throughout the country and cooperate with all local authorities from all sector and all religions we accept with a deep gratitude the ambulance donated by the City of Aventura by the resident of Aventura which is a significant contribution to the mother's work in the city so thank you very much about it the connection uh between our our people is iron clad we will never forget your support and our Aventura was the first city in Florida to Rally just a few days after October 7 this is remarkable and the name of Aventura on the ambulance Ser as a symbol of our joint sister city relationship we very much uh look forward to building a close friendship and relationship based on the share values and the common Vision education technology infrastructure Ure Homeland Security and smart and digital cities including our most treasurous the children and the young people of both of our cities the leader of the future as the chairman of the Federation of local authorities in Israel the Federation is umbrella organization of all municipalities 259 cities in Israel include the capital city of Jerusalem Tel Aviv Beva cities in the North and South including the the sector the Arab sector and all the sector in the state of Israel looking to the Future the role of the Federation of local authorities in Israel uh continues to play a central and critical role in the rebuilding and Rehabilitation of the state of Israel and the people of Israel today our thousand of displaced Israeli citizen who are still still unable to return to their homes in boats in in uh South and in the north of the country some of them have nothing to return to their homes and communities have been completely destroyed it will take years to rehabilitate borders continues in the Gaza envelope and in the notes but we will the Federation of local authorities in Israel is critical to success of the nation in this war effort working directly with the home for command we coordinate many of services for the aaces we located and distributed budget for cities in need in absorbing aacu placing children in schools in their whole cities and on effort to maintain safety and routine in a time of War personal safety and Municipal safety are critical in Israel C and kib that had cilian Emergency Response Unit were more capable to stopping the terror attack than those which did not therefore we create 100 such units across Israel and expanded the security unit around the school increasing technological cilian which connect to each authori command and control center we are ready for any future escal in the state of Israel after this war is over the hard work begins we must rebuild Israel we will work to rebuild our society and our nation after this Collective National trauma the Federation of local authorities technologes and appreciates the importance of our International counterparts and especially aventur our people thank you very much I would like to to invite you to to come to Israel to take part in the Federation of local authorities annual meet uh the Moone Expo the Moone War 2024 conference that take place on June 9 and 10 in in Tel Aviv this unique event highlights National resilience renewal hope and strategies that the decision makers can adopt in the emergency situation it also provides an opportunity to the local government in Israel to thank their International partners for their support during these difficult times and especially to the people in Aventura so thank you very much about everything I'm thank thank you so much mayor that was terrific I'll have you know I was considering giving my remarks in Hebrew but I was advised against it okay at this time I'd be honored to call up uh Council General maor Elbas daninsky a very very close personal friend and a friend of Aventura thank you this morning I decided not to make a speech because I know we even though everybody are waiting for my speech I'm sure I'll I'll spare you I'll just mention that it took aventur to issue two two hours to issue a statement uh after the October 7 and two days to hold a rally and almost a year to approve my pyramids to fix the shower so you definitely know what's what's important I'm kidding I have where to take a shower now everything's everything's fine I'm clean I'm clean but I I'm I'm here m to say thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart H for the support that we have been receiving even long before October 7 uh from the state of of of Florida uh all the way from you know from its leaders H from tasi where is Senator piso I saw my friend of course Rick was not here from the governor and also from from through the local elected official and of course bottom up from from the residents from from the community and I can't tell you how how important it is to us it means the world to us it does not go unnoticed and it fills me with pride and joy in a way to to be the conso general here in this wonderful community and I can assure you that it is it sends a great sense of unity solidarity and comfort H to the to the to the people of Israel so thank you for everything that you're doing for the connection between between our countries all this sister city in the end of the day is a very very personal and maybe even egoist thing for me I'm a resident of Aventura I'm a resident of modin and I was a medic at M VI many many years back when I still had some some hair so so it is it is a big celebration for me so thank you very much thank you very much commission thank you very much mayor Bas for coming all the way from Israel to to Aventura and I'm Israel as everybody saying thank you thank you thank you very very much um i' I'm honored to call up for some words uh representative Randy fine thank you for coming to eventor this morning good morning uh many of you may not know me because I don't represent anywhere near here uh my district is actually more than three hours away up where the Kennedy Space Center is but I am here because I'm the only Jew in the majority party in Tallahassee and so but more importantly I'm the father of two Jewish boys one of whom is here with me today a redhead appropriately named David um but I I've been proud over the last eight years to help Florida be a leader in making sure that we stand with Israel and we protect Jews and if you look at Florida versus how we're doing with other versus other states we're doing pretty well here just last year I was with the governor in Jerusalem when we signed a bill to deal with the issues of those goofy Flyers that people had to deal with and the projections of anti-Semitic things on buildings you do those things now in the State of Florida you're going to go to prison for five years um you won't find that in other places but I'm here because as good as things are going in Florida and as bad as they are going everywhere else we still have room for improvement we still in Florida have organizations that actively call for terrorism operating unimpeded on our State University campuses often times with your tax money we still have as many as you have seen not far from here a dentist who runs a school that says his Jewish patients are the brothers of pigs and dogs and as far as I know he is still working right now today we still have in the legislature members who are willing to Cort and support and stand with Hamas Affiliated organizations so as good as we are doing we still have a long way to go and that is why events like this are so critically important and it's why I go from Pensacola to Miami where none of where no one can vote for me um and talk about these issues because what you are doing today by standing with this city by standing with Israel by standing up against the kind of terrorism that we have seen over there and that they want to bring over here by doing it every day and doing it loudly is what makes sure that we will be safe that we will continue to stand with Israel so thank you to all of you for what you are doing today but do what you are doing today every day because the moment that we stop doing it we will be facing exactly what it is that they are over there I know you will keep it up over here and thank you for having me and my son here to recognize this day with you thank you thank you representative fine and thank you for the work that you do in Tallahassee I I was up there three times in the last session and I saw you on the floor doing your thing I appreciate that um next I want to bring up a personal friend a friend of aventur and a great friend of Israel uh for former bal Harbor mayor Gabe [Applause] Gman thank you mayor and uh commission thank you everybody here and that the introduction is actually appropriate for what the words I was thinking of sharing with you all oftentimes people say that nations are friends the the United States is a friend of Israel I always reject that premise countries are allies countries have shared interests shared National Security interests Etc people are friends and the way you get things done in this world at any level whether it's in government in business in family just in life is through relationships personal relationships and friendships and this really is a result of a lot of hard work of a lot of people but also a lot of true friendships between individuals yes here in the United States and in Israel mayor mayor K bibas and I have been friends for many years we met as Mayors working on incredible anti-Semitism issues along with the the mayor from Frankfurt Germany doing events around the world trying to push and fight back against anti-Semitism but on the side of the content of what we were doing we really became friends the same thing with Council General Maro elbaz from day one mayor Enid Weissman this whole commission mayor Weinberg together we were in Israel and things like this happen as a result of friendships and we have to Value today in a time when everybody is so distant because of social media because of the phones that are meant to connect us are actually things that are dividing us and we have to bring back a focus to being meeting people in person making friends having real relationships and then going out and doing amazing things like this together so thank you so much in just a moment of personal privilege I want to tell you that Gabe and I were at the mayor's conference to combat anti-Semitism in Athens Greece and then uh um we went to Israel and uh Gabe uh uh at my request took me up to mount olives and with his assistance we located the um the grave site of my great-grandfather who and great-grandmother who was the founder of the Gates of Heaven cabala Yeshiva in the old city and um and when Gabe said to me wow that was the nicest most meaningful moment of his entire trip it really gave me goosebumps it was a really wonderful thing and he's I'll never forget that thank you Gabe at this time sure at this time um I'm going to ask the clerk to read into the record uh a letter from Senator Marco Rubio dear friends I am honored to join the cities of Aventura and Modine for the sister city signing ceremony and the magin David Adam ambulance dedication over the past 76 years the modern state of Israel has celebrated many incredible accomplishments and is a shining example of a free prosperous and Democratic Nation despite consistently facing adversaries hellbent on its destruction as we celebrate today's ceremony recognizing the cities of Aventura and Modine as sister cities may we also honor the Israelis loss during the October 7th attacks and the Israeli defense Force members now fighting to defend Israel I proudly stand with the Jewish people in solidarity over the lives lost and pray for their families during this difficult time our nation's commitment to Israel and the Jewish people should never be in doubt and we must continue to supply Israel with vital equipment such as these ambulances and their fight to completely destroy Hamas my wife Janette and I extend our best wishes to everyone attending today's ceremony I will continue working with my congressional colleagues to ensure our support for Israel never waivers sincerely Marco Rivier Rubios US senator thank you and thank you to thank you to Senator Rubio uh at this time because this is a publicly noticed commission meeting uh under Florida law uh I'll open this for public comment if anyone has anything to say specifically on this resolution our sister city resolution raise your hand or stand up I seeing none I'll close it for public comment and ask for a roll call vote please commissioner Cruz yes commissioner Bloom Ken which means 100% yes commissioner frein yes commissioner Joel yes commissioner Stern is absent vice mayor Dr marks yes and mayor Weinberg yes the motion passes since the um resolution is passed we will sign it now there's a table right there and a pen I would ask that um the Commissioners fix their signature to the resolution to make it official up [Music] H special pen oh go ahead I'll after y are you okay I getting over the shoulder shot uh you I went to see my parents were in m you commission com it's got the Avent tie off [Music] one [Music] more okay beautiful excent that work after they just told me to move up piso because he's got to leave not the re okay [Music] so since we now officially have a sister city a new sibling we felt it was only right that we give the mayor of Modine the key to the city the key to the City of Aventura so whenever you're here you can go anywhere you want now couple of years when I was back on the commission I realized that we gave a couple people the key to the city in fact I got the key to the city when I was turned out as a commissioner and I realized we're we are a condominium Community nobody uses Keys anymore that's not going to open any place you go I'm telling you it's going to be useless so I had created the mayor's fob to the city now you're going to be able to get some place so I'm I'm very proud to present both of you both of these to you and then we have uh an additional gift too I will give these to you with a photo session after but I promise they work wherever you want to go but in the in the interest of time and what's really more important is um I want you to be presented with a beautiful piece of art that really reflects the relationship between your city and ours and our country and yours um this is art that was created by a donof for Aventura high school student Regina wolf and if she would like to come up here and if you would come up and she could present it to you um here she is and then if she wants to say a few words that's fine but let's get a beautiful photo she's coming up to this beautiful young high school [Applause] student everyone must take a look at this it's fantastic okay okay I know I'm doing right after no after the benediction after the [Applause] benedic hello sorry my name is G wolf I'm an 11th grader at Don so for aventur high school and I would just like to start by saying it is an absolute honor to be here today and present my artwork to Mayor bias and to have my artwork hanging in his office in Modine I would like to thank the City of Aventura I'd like to thank Dr Beck and I'd like to thank my art teacher Miss Larson for making this possible I've spent countless hours on this artwork and I really do think that it's a true symbol of the con connection that the City of Aventura and the City of modin have and I drew a dog tag that is worn by IDF soldiers and is actually worned by some of you in this room today that I have seen and it says bring them home it's a very powerful message that really shows the collective power that Jews have and the collective crave and need that we all have to bring them home the hostages and I really do think that the sister cities are a very powerful message that I'm very proud to live in Aventura and very proud to have such a connection to Israel as a Jew as it is such a powerful part of my character and part of my religion I was actually told that my painting has a small resemblance to a high which the shapes of the state of Israel and the State of Florida collectively form this shape of a high which means essentially life and I think it's a great representation of the new life of the sister cities and I'm just so proud of living in Aventura and having this honor of being able to present my artwork thank you so much you know I'm the mayor of mod modin located in the heart and the center of the state of Israel 25 minutes from Jerusalem 255 minutes from Tel Aviv but 2,190 years ago began the Revolt of maabin against the the Greek Empire to release the Holy Temple and uh the warrior who sit in in arar we have one of the hent synagogue from the Mak from family in the city of so like then and now you know we have the new name of and the symbol of the city is kanuk so I brought to you mayor something to your office to put it there you know in December there's a time to light your office and to light your wonderful city thank you very much thank you I love this and I'll cherish it as long as I'm here I'm going to give you right now the fob to the city the fob to the city we don't have quite the history of Modine we're 29 years old okay so a little different so here's the fob this is for you take with you and the very beautiful key to the city city thank you this is for you let me hold this here thank you mayor and thank you modin [Applause] okay okay as I had said earlier there's very important people here some of whom have many many things they have to accomplish in a day so at this time I'm going to go a little bit out of order because we have some remarks and a special presentation by our favorite state senator and our very good friend friend to all of us Jason pizo I will be uh I will be brief cuz I do have to go um a few years ago uh rep Randy fine was a huge support and help we all met at the Sho for the governor to sign into law the hatala bill which allowed for hatala to serve this community and it's been a wonderful uh wonderful experience in the exuberance of launching uh hatala and more ambulances in South Florida at their very first event here in Aventura I got up on stage I was asked to say a couple things and I was compelled uh to actually offer my entire year salary from the state senate uh to donate to hotala this past December my dear friend Leslie texted me she says I'm leaving for Israel tomorrow do you want to go I said yes uh so we spent 43 hours without sleeping we drove all the way to the Dead Sea to meet the families of bayari uh I got to cook for 40 female IDF soldiers that wasn't really a sacrifice that was kind of fun um bombs blasting all over the place Rockets shooting over my head um and then we got to go to MDA um and where I met Ido so today I see Ido for the first time in 5 months since December 18th when I was inside of his headquarters and outside the entire shot up Van that I'll never forget donated by the Epstein family in 2008 from Tom rer New Jersey completely shot up that was in kisu um so today uh to honor you and honor all the great work you do I have a check personal check for $30,000 my entire Senate salary to give to MDA [Music] thank you Senator by the way if I knew what you were giving him I would have had you go first isn't that wonderful so regarding the ambulance um is uh is the pastor here Mark cabau hi Mark I would love it if you can at this time do the benediction thank you so much we are um moving on to the dedication of the ambulance thank you thank you very much mayor and to all of the dignitaries that are here would you join me in prayer to the god of Abraham and Isaac and ycob today we come in this moment this historic moment this day of uniting Hearts cities passions and purposes as we come today and as we are here we do do not want to forget the hostages that are being held in Gaza by the evil people who have destruction and hatred at their core we say that we bring them home now and we pray for the families of those that are desperately hoping and praying for the return of their loved ones I also pray today for my brothers and sisters of the IDF that I was able to visit personally Nal and the other five different bases near Gaza people that have given their lives to fight for freedom for righteousness for what is good we pray also for those that are in the hospital of Sheba that I was able to visit those that are wounded the IDF soldiers men and women that are giving so much to protect the lives of our beloved people of Israel and today we come together to thank you we thank you for this moment we thank you for mayor bias and we thank you for this sister city bond that is not just being created today but may this city and may what we do here in Aventura be replic ated across not just Florida and not just America but around the world we understand that if it was not for your grace and your help that we could not be here today and so we remember we remember to thank you to thank you for life thank you for the people of Israel thank you for the holy land I'm Israel an Isel [Applause] amen thank you Pastor Mark and thank you for always being a friend to Aventura much appreciate it uh we have some uh remarks from MDA uh oo rosenblad and Jess nessen it's a couple minutes before Shabbat and Ido ran out because his wife called him so I'll start with quick remarks my name is Jessica Nim and I'm the major gifts director for Meg de Dom on Monday I returned from a week-long trip in Israel where I also went to modin and if I could tell you one thing that I came back with is the appreciation for the PE from the people of Israel for the support that they do receive in the United States from shopkeepers that thanked me for coming to spend in their store I've met with hostage families that encouraged me to continue to represent their beg their their begging for their families to come home there was one night where I was at a Wonder F dinner in moden and we were having dinner with a bunch of women whose husbands have been in Gaza many of them have multiple children at home their husbands have been gone without any communication and we were just there to give them support to let them know that we were there and with me joining me were three meds from mendad and when we had a moment we were laughing and having wine and all of a sudden one of them looks at their phone and their face drops and I turn to him and say is everything okay and at the moment he couldn't tell me exactly what was happening but by the end of about 15 minutes he said uh there's been a really bad accident among soldiers in Gaza and we're going to have to go pick up bodies now I just want to understand that this is the reality the people in life of the people in Israel are living they're still trying trying to enjoy every moment savoring life appreciating everything that they have but many times families are separated husbands are at War their businesses are not doing so well because there's no tourism there's nobody there to spend um money on all the amazing things that they make um there's people that have been displaced from their homes hundreds of thousands of people um and Meg our mission is to save lives and to bring people together and provide a space where everyone is represented um with that I would like to just take a moment to have Ido come up and speak on behalf of the organization but if I could leave you just one thought is that these moments are so important to the people of Israel that they appreciate it I kept in telling them every time I met them that for every one person that was in Israel there's thousands of them um thousands of people like me here representing showing them love and if you can please take time to go visit they need our support and this ambulance is just another show um symbol of affection so with that you know thank you Jessica as we sit here or waiting here for my time there is a lot of missiles out in the North part of Israel Israel is strong M with the is strong and with you and with few support and with support and the love of the city OFA Israel stronger again with the as Jessica mentioned the national IM of the state of Israel operated a lot of ambulances this ambulance sorry the ambulance this this ambulance this intensive units that came from Avent the city of Avent is very important from that don't very important from the state of Israel but I think that the message the message that you sent from the city of aent for the state of Israel is bigger than the ambulance and we are very thankful you for this the city of mine is a young City growing city and the Intensive Care Unit in Modine City have in average six missions in a shift dou it in three missions in a day and you figure out that the city of aventur the people of Avent going to touch in average 5,000 people every year you're going to be part of Saving Lives of 5,000 people every year and this is a huge huge thing [Music] we we in M don't believe in Partnership and this is the reason that that we signed by the way here in in the city of Ventura on a collaboration agreement with falas Florida two years ago we are very proud that the technology that was developed in men viad helped to save lives here in South Florida in Aventura as as Jessica said mentioned before in the next time that you came to visit in Israel please let us know and came to visit us in Israel thank you again for everything thank so on each ambulance you have a chief of a scene and we're going to take the ambulance to Israel so you can't keep that but we are going to give each one of you a gift to remember the dedication of the ambulance and if you could put it on for a photo at the ambulance we would really appreciate thank you so [Music] much while that's happening I want to um recognize that I see uh Saul Blau is here Saul Holocaust Survivor I'm recognizing you spoke so spoke so powerfully and importantly to our youth our high school youth thank you sa thank you for being here it has our name on it this is fantastic thank you that is so kind thank you so [Applause] much we'll take a picture later with all of us wearing them um I want to call up and Andre roitman where are you Andre ah great friend wonderful wonderful uh person hatala of South Florida please thank you mayor different than more speech nobody's waiting for my speech but uh I'm here for a few reasons number one I'm a proud resident of Aventura and I want to tell you that this mayor this vice mayor and these Commissioners they represent me they represent my wife they represent my family they represent our neighbors our community and we're so proud to live in Aventura a seat of Excellence that actually stands for excellence and I appreciate very much your support for Israel for the Jewish nation and for the truth thank [Applause] you there are many people that represent us in different places and in talah most of you don't know what's going on over there and to have representatives there as a r fan finally is a major major um example of what a leader has to be so he's coming here he doesn't really represent a region physically but he represents our values we're so appreciative for everything is done there and um I was in talahasse when the bill was signed for atala to be able to have ambulances and his leader ship was so important for us to be able to get there and all his team um I know that R Benjamin he is a Muslim American he stood up in talahasse in support of atala's Bill and representing our community that is what our community stands for Unity it doesn't matter what religion you are doesn't matter where you're from if you support life you're part of the family and that's we're here for for today to support life at last I would like to thank Ido he came from Israel Menda viad has provided hatsa South Florida with a lifesaving technology directly from Israel that allows us to take every single caller when you call hatala which you should have the number by the way by now you call hatala for medical emergency our dispatchers are going into the technology coming from Israel we're able to provide immediate service to the community because of Israeli technology m viad is not only saving lives in Israel madom is saving lives here in Aventura in Sun is where we have so many friends and our mayor here that supports atala tranda leing and her team every city in Florida in South Florida we are M VI is with us in every single call 2023 we had 6,000 calls it was 6,000 times M viom participated in Saving a life in South Florida thank you m viad I think this idea was brilliant mayor Welcome to our city uh I also want a fob one day I'm voting for that it's so hard to get into the buildings when we're going with an ambulance if you have a fob it's going to be easier I would like to thank everyone for coming here today and giving the support for our community these Commissioners are amazing and um I would like to recognize the two supervisor Aventura here Jason Saka and yon batito supervisor of Aventura and I'm looking forward to seeing the new ambulance outside thank you thank you just so everyone knows right after this we're going to go outside and actually present the ambulance you all need to look at the ambulance It's amazing And it says right on it from the people of Aventura to the people of Israel and it has the Seal of the City of Aventura uh before we adjourn commissioner Cruz you want to say something I just wanted to uh tie things up a little bit and just say that uh um hatala South Florida was born here in Aventura Andre Reitman and the team have done such a phenomenal job and we're really blessed to have them here and they are using mandav technology which is incredible but just so you see at the center if a community wants to get something done we can definitely get it done if the when there's a will there's a way and that's what we do so we hope that this meaningful uh ceremony that we're having here today will inspire other communities other municipalities to do the same thing to sign a sister city agreement with a with a city in Israel to uh work with menen David and especially also to work with hatala South Florida who is saving lives here and there's nothing more important than we can do as we talk about Mitzvah and doing good deeds than to save a human life and finally I want to say for all those that are clamoring for a ceasefire I say it's really simple tell Hamas to surrender and give us back our hostages okay folks when you exit the building turn right and go down the stairs and you can't miss the ambulance um I need a motion to adjourn motion made by commissioner Bloom seconded by vice mayor uh all marks all those in favor say I we're adjourned I did I just did outside and to the right Serv Serv about oh fir [Music] if we everything will it work if we can have everybody start to move outside when you get outside turn to your right go down the stairs if we can start to move outside please outside to your right and down the stairs we're going to do the ambulance dedication e yes e the it all laptop the mic than how many you got [Music] there he said to leave the laptop and the mics I don't know I guess they're doing something happen here you want to take something e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e for