Tiberias Sister City - Tulsa Global Alliance

One of the holy cities of Judaism, Tiberias is located 680 feet below sea level on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Tiberias offers a look at an ancient world of religious symbolism and heritage. Since Tiberias basks in a mild climate, it is a popular winter resort. Tourism is its main industry, as thousands of people visit the city annually to enjoy its hot spring baths, lakeside resorts, and charming shops and cafes. Tiberias has a population of about 38,000.

Tulsa's Jewish community has been involved with Tiberias since 1979 when it assisted an area in Tiberias as part of the Project Renewal program. From this program, the bond with Tulsa graduated into a Sister City relationship with many educational and cultural exchanges. The mayor of Tiberias brought a delegation of 15 persons and a dance troupe of 45 dancers for the Sister Cities International conference in 1992.

Tulsa mayors have led three delegations of community, business, political and education leaders to Tiberias to promote exchanges between our two cities. Two groups of youth from Tiberias participated in the "Breaking Through The Boundaries" program. Tulsa volunteers travel to Tiberias to participate in teaching English as a second language to immigrants. In the summer of 1998, The Tulsa Area Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Tiberias Chapter of Magen David Adom, the Israeli version of the Red Cross, participated in a youth exchange. This marked the first time that these two organizations cooperated on a youth exchange, and it allowed participants to learn about each others' countries and about the services offered by both agencies.