17th of Adar II, 5784
March 27, 2024
Dear beloved residents of the city,
Five years ago, we embarked on a journey. A journey that was akin to a dream. Many supported but thought it impossible, that we couldn't make a difference. Numerous challenges were laid before us, challenges that could have led to failure – COVID-19, shifting and evolving national election systems, a problematic city-wide agreement, a rapid pace of development. Despite it all, we chose not to give up and to continue working towards a better reality. Together, we turned a dream into reality.
Every morning, I woke up with a sense of duty and great joy, eager to serve you until the late hours of the night. I did it with great love and true belief that we're doing the best we can.
Our city today is much cleaner. We decided it was important and invested countless days and nights so that every resident would feel respected, and the public space would be worthy to everyone.
I met dear residents like you every day. We met at cultural events, community activities, festivals in our amazing parks, sports events, inaugurating dozens of educational institutions across the city, opening mikvehs in neighborhoods, opening of roads and interchanges, presenting urban renewal plans, creating new industrial zones, youth night activities, and community parenting school events, and forming the employment administration. We met at emergency events during the days of COVID-19 and the Iron Swords war and especially in thousands of chance encounters on the city streets. Together, we planted many seeds, and we'll see them all bear fruit in the years to come.
During our tenure, Beit Shemesh grew from a city of 119,000 residents to a city with almost 180,000 residents.
Alongside our major accomplishments and the establishment of new neighborhoods, there are many things that are still in progress, like a Tzofim structure and Ariel movement's branch, Tipat Chalav stations, a swimming pool in the old city, a pool in Neve Shamir and Mishkafayim neighborhoods, a sportek, Neve Shamir industrial zone, sports fields, rental housing project, Ori and Yishii Parks, the Northern Industrial Park, and more. I appreciate that their implementation will continue in the near future, and you'll benefit from them.
I chose to see you as my partners, not just as customers to serve. That's why my choice to hold cleanup days, hackathons, public communal meetings, and more is so you can be part of the development and action in the city.
Every meeting with you was a counseling session for me. I was amazed every time by the partnership, dedication, good advice, and the fact that you chose to share your vision for our beloved city with me every time. I heard you expressing faith in the righteousness of the path. As the mayor of Beit Shemesh Municipality, and the city of Beit Shemesh, we are lucky to have amazing residents like you. We got to live in a wonderful city that combines Olim and Tzabarim, ultra-Orthodox and religious, traditional and secular, young and senior residents, a city of communities.
Sometimes we felt that challenges created tensions, but we didn't fear them and faced them while building bridges between communities, not because it was the best way but because it was the only possible way. Together with you, the city residents, we managed to transform Beit Shemesh from a city that was a symbol of conflict into a city that promotes education, culture, and economic development.
More than all the achievements, I am mainly proud that at the end of my tenure, we are proud to be residents of the city of Beit Shemesh. We turned diversity into an opportunity for shared life; Beit Shemesh is now quiet and pleasant to live in. A city that is on the map as a growing city. One of the evidences is the many entrepreneurs who see it as a place with potential, and indeed many have come here. Among them are Dell, Shibolet, Reit 1, Erocca, Fox, Rami Levy, and more. A large number of residents from Israel and around the world, who saw the process the city is going through, chose to live here, in our city.
I bid farewell to you at the height of the Iron Swords War, a war imposed on us, during which we lost 13 dear children of the city. Families who lost their loved ones, you were an inspiration to me even at hard times. The Fallen Heroes Forest and the Kalaniot Garden that we established are constant reminders for all of us to do everything we can to be worthy of the price you paid, to build here together a truly ethical and just society.
As mayor, I made it a point every Friday to visit the city's kindergartens, read stories with the children, and mainly to remind all of us that we are committed to our future generation.
Children of Beit Shemesh, the beating heart of our city, continue to dream, and you are our best investment.
Today, I bid farewell to my position as mayor of Beit Shemesh, but I do not part from you. I remain a resident of Beit Shemesh, the city I love so much.
Peace be with you!
With much love,
Aliza Bloch
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