Last weekend saw a wonderful encounter of youth from Afula and the Gilboa Regional Council and their peers from the Jewish community of Stamford, Connecticut, USA.

This event is part of the Partnership 200 project, which has been running in our region for 16 years. The main goal of Partnership 2000 is to create personal and meaningful ties between Israel and Jewish communities  around the world. The Afula-Gilboa region is partnered with 12 communities from the Southern New England region of the United States.

The Stamford youth arrived in Israel as part of the sport competitions held under the auspices of the Jewish Community Center Association  and World Maccabi (The JCC Maccabi Games). This event has been going for 29 years now, with the participation of more than 6,000 Jewish youth from all across the United States. The reason this year's competition is considered especially newsworthy and historic - and indeed is receiving special media attention and coverage - because it is the first time the event is being held in Israel. During the young athletes' stay in Israel, they compete in a wide range of sport and arts activities as well as touring the country.

Over the last weekend in July, the Stamford youth spread out among the various partnership communities all over Israel, from Eilat in the south to Kiryat Shemona in the north. We had the pleasure of hosting 26 young men and women and staff, who were all distributed amongst homes of local residents in Afula and the Gilboa region.

Also, together with the WIZO Afula Community Center, special activities were held over the weekend, including a special "Welcoming of the Sabbath" ceremony, icebreakers and a farewell party where other youth from the region were also invited.

There is no question that the home hospitality experience strongly reinforces the connection between Israeli and American Jewish youth and their families, and in a direct and deeply personal manner. No doubt that such ties also lead to a meaningful, valuable and long-term connection with Israel in general. We wish to thank all those who were involved in this wonderful endeavor, especially those who opened their hearts and hosted our guests in their homes, and certainly hope to continue making even more connections in the future!