Afula Mayor Itzhak Mirone and Gilboa Mayor Danny Atar headed an Afula-Gilboa delegation which visited in seven SNEC communities from November 26 - 30, 2001. The delegation was in West Hartford for the Partnership 2000 Steering Committee Meeting on November 27, 2001. Mayor Itzhak Mirone and Senior Deputy Mayor Menachem Yavor returned to Israel after 48 hours in the United States due to the terrorist shooting near the Afula Bus Station on November 27, 2001. Two people were killed and 21 people were wounded in this terrorist attack. Seven of the wounded were new immigrants.

The rest of the delegation continued to travel around the SNEC communities for meetings with the local Federation and Community Staff and Volunteer Leaders. As we have had to do so many times and particularly in the past year, we all continued to discuss enhancing Jewish Identity through partnership 2000 programming on the background of terrorism. The meetings were very productive. It is difficult and painful to write about the destruction caused by a terrorist attack and the productive outcome of the Partnership 2000 meetings in the same paragraph and yet it is something we have had to learn to do.

  Shvat 5762 - January 2002