November was a month of much exciting activity in the Afula-Gilboa-SNEC region. Afula-Gilboa hosted 4 groups of SNEC representatives and had the opportunity to share plans and dreams in person with its American partners.

• Rabbi Emily Korzenik from Stamford, Connecticut led an interesting interfaith mission in our area. The group was particularly excited to be inside the Ethiopian synagogue in Afula and to meet with the Arab deputy head of the Gilboa Regional Council.

• A group from Hartford, Connecticut met with officials from the Afula municipality, gaining a deeper understanding of the nature and the needs of this unique city.

• The dedication of the basketball court at the Emek Yaffe High School was a highlight of the Westport, Connecticut mission led by Mr. Bob Kessler, Westport Federation Director. Mission participants received gifts handmade by students in appreciation of Westport's help and support in building the basketball court, and later participated in a basketball game with students.

• The Afula Youth Band opened our semi-annual Afula-Gilboa-SNEC Steering Committee meeting on the evening of November 15 in the Bet Eshkol Community Center. Fifty people from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Afula-Gilboa attended the meeting. Meeting Chair Dr. Larry Lefkowitz led discussion on issues of mutual concern, and Gilboa Regional Council Head Mr. Dani Atar introduced the new mayor of Afula, Mr.Yitzchak Meron.

• Afula-Gilboa and SNEC representatives spent the day of the Steering Committee meeting visiting various institutions in the Afula-Gilboa area in an effort to establish new connections and promote new projects for 1999. Mr. Steve Rakitt, Director of the Rhode Island Federation , a group of young leaders from Rhode Island, and young leaders from Afula-Gilboa met with administrators of HaEmek Medical Center in Afula and the Jezreel Valley College, institutions relatively new to Partnership 2000. We all look forward to working together on some promising new projects.

• The General Assembly in Jerusalem provided an excellent venue for numerous meetings and activities of Afula-Gilboa and SNEC leadership groups, as well as a chance to develop new relationships and cement existing ones.

• An exciting outcome of the General Assembly convention in Jerusalem was our meeting Susan Polansky, the Vice President of the Springfield, Ma. Federation . The Springfield community is a member of the SNEC consortium, yet, until this time, has not been an active participant in Partnership 2000. Ms. Polansky, together with Mr. Robert Fishman, Executive Director of the Connecticut Federations , came to visit the Afula-Gilboa region on the last day of the G.A. We spent a very full day introducing Susan to some of the key people in the area, and many of the existing and proposed Partnership 2000 projects. Susan certainly has a multitude of new ideas to share with her Federation, and Springfield's active participation in Partnership 2000 will be most welcome.

  November 1998