Ron Nachman

I didn’t know Mayor Ron Nachman well, we had met on a few different occasions,  but he does receive a large chunk of the credit when people ask me why we moved to Ariel. When my wife and I were searching for a community we spoke with a representative from Nefesh B’nefesh and explained what kind of town we were looking for and he told us that Ariel is trying to build an Anglo community. and it seems like it would be a good match for us.

Shortly after we moved here, my wife and I, along with other Anglos had our first meeting with the Mayor.  It was exactly 4 years to the day before he passed away. The day is easy to remember because it was the night before our daughter was born. We discussed different ways to attract Americans to Ariel. He was open, seemingly honest, and didn’t worry about being politically correct.

The Mayor once took a small group of Anglos on a tour of the region, he told us the story of how he came to a barren mountaintop, and built it up to the city it is today. He showed us the importance of the Ariel Bloc for the security of Israel, and told us how he has done more for peace,by pushing for and building the Ariel and Barkan Industrial parks, where Jews and Palestinians work side by side.

More recently, The Mayor made an appearance at the Mamad (Religious Public School) for their Chanukah Assembly. He thanked all of the kids and said it was in their Z’chut, through their Teffilot that he had been feeling better lately.

I’ve been reading what different politicians have been saying about The Mayor over the past few days, and there is probably no greater tribute than across the political spectrum, he was respected and admired.