It all began 11 years ago, when the Jewish Agency announced the launching of Partnership 2000, and invited the city of of Beit Shemesh and the settlements of Yehuda Plains to become the first Israeli members. At the same time, the leaders of the Jewish communities in South Africa and Washington D.C. were invited to join and create a unique global Jewish community in one of the most scenic areas in Israel. The idea, like any great idea, was brilliant in its simplicity. The Jews of Israel and the Jews of the partner communities become one family, living in different places.

Through Partnership 2000, we get to know one another and meet regularly to discuss the state of the nation (or should we say, the state of the family). Today, Partnership 2000 is a success story beyond all wildest dreams.

There are currently 42 partnerships in Israel that unite more than 500 Jewish communities around the world. Our partnership helps the region deal with its changing education and welfare needs, supports economic development projects, and facilitates a wide range of relationship-building activities.

Facts about our partnership

    * Our partnership is the only one that unites three continents.

    * Population growth in the city of Beit Shemesh is the highest in Israel. During the past 10 years , the city's population has grown 400%.

    * The city of Beit Shemesh is mentioned 21 times in the Bible.

    * Yehuda Plains is part of the Regional Council of Mateh Yehuda, the largest regional council in Israel. It islocated between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

    * The stories of David and Goliath, and Samson and Delilah took place in the Yehuda Plains.

    * Partnership 2000 is the driving force establishing the region as the "bicycle capital" of Israel.

    * Each year, Derech Hayayin, the Wine Route in the Beit Shemesh-Yehuda Plains region, exports thousands of bottles of wine to the U.S. and around the world.

    * More than 1200 visitors from Washington DC and from South Africa interacted with residents in our region in the past year, including teens, college students, early childhood educators, and mission participants.

    * Many innovative ideas from our partnership are now implemented in other Partnership 2000 communities.

    * A sampling of the education and welfare programs supported by our partnership:

          o Early childhood program for children with special needs

          o Counseling for at-risk teens and their parents

          o Music education for immigrant children

          o Creation of a video library documenting the rich heritage of the region

From Connections Magazine

Partnership 2000 Beit Shemesh - Shefelat Yehudah - Washington - South Africa

"The Jewish Agency, active in more than 60 countries around the world and throughout Israel, is the world's major global Jewish partnership organization. In 1994, the Jewish Agency launched a new program with its partners the United Jewish Communities (UJC) - Federations of North America and Keren Hayesod - United Israel Appeal (UIA), called Partnership 2000 (P2K). Its goal was to strengthen Israel by creating connections through "living bridges" between Jews in Israel and abroad. Today, there are 44 partnership regions partnered with over 550 communities abroad." -Excerpted from JAFI brochure

So it all started ten years ago. The Jewish Agency (JAFI) invited the city of Beit Shemesh and the region of Shefelat Yehudah, the area that stretches from Sha'ar Hagai and Tzomet Nachshon to the north down to Lion/Srigim and Tzafririm to the south, to join a new project called Partnership 2000 (P2K). At the same time, the JAFI turned to the Jewish communities in Washington D.C. and in South Africa in a fateful offer: to join in a partnership with one of the most beautiful areas in Israel. The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, the United Communal Fund of South Africa and the Jewish Agency accepted the offer and so formed one of the more unique partnerships of Jewish global community, a combination of three Jewish communities from three different continents.

Objectives of the Partnership 2000

P2K’s goals are:

    * To create an enduring “Living Bridge” People-to-People relationships, connections, shared values and common action between Israelis and Jewish people in the diaspora in order to assure the unity of the Jewish people into the future;

    * Work together to advance our common goals of assisting in immigrant absorption, educating our younger generation, promoting community building, and strengthening Jerusalem and Israel's social and geographic peripheries;

    * Focus activities on our younger generation in order to assure the future of our people;

    * Initiate and create coalitions of the relevant bodies in Israel and in Jewish communities in the diaspora, including local authorities, NGO's, the business sector, foundations and Jewish organizations;

    * Enhance lay leadership whereby volunteer leadership will play a major role together with elected leadership.

These goals are lofty and may sound "big picture" but they are definitely relevant to the Beit Shemesh area and have the potential to impact our lives. You will read in these pages how P2K has already effected change here and some plans on what lies ahead.

How the Partnership works

Yizhar Hess, an attorney by profession, is the JAFI professional manager of Beit Shemesh/Shfelat Yehuda/Washington/South Africa partnership. The P2K steering committee, mainly composed of lay leadership, is chaired by four people, representing our four partnered communities: Mr. Shimon Batat from Shefelat Yehudah; Mr. Aryeh Noach, from Beit Shemesh; Chairperson - Ms. Lori Deckelbaum from Washington and Mr. Dovi Unterlask from South Africa.

In addition to the chairpeople, the steering committee itself is represented by the different constituents in our partnership both here in Israel and abroad. The committee is divided into three sub-committees that represent the three foci of the partnership:

    * Education, Welfare and Community Committee, focusing on the development of programs for the advancement of educational and social welfare issues. Chair: Ilan Geal-Dor

    * People to People (Gesher LeKesher) Committee, focusing on the personal relationships between our communities and advancing the initiatives for strengthening the connection between the communities. Chair: David Hirsch

    * Economic Development Committee, focusing on programs which will lead to economic and tourist development in our region. Chair: Danny Taragan

The sub-committees, which include program directors and community leaders, officially meet monthly on each side of the ocean but are constantly in touch via phone calls, internet and transatlantic conference calls. Twice a year, however, the steering committee itself meets face-to-face to discuss the development and progress of the programs, the budget and the new challenges that face each of our partnered communities, the most recent taking place in South Africa this past May. In addition, to the content-based discussions it was an opportunity to learn first hand about the S. African Jewish community. Together, through discussion and negotiation, an agenda is created by consensus that attempts to meet the needs of all four of our partner communities.

P2K works on the ground level to support organizations involved in education, social affairs and welfare, economic development and business entrepreneurship, programs for the empowering of the residents and thousands of encounters between the members of the three communities, youth and adults alike. In the last decade, over $10M was invested in our region. Just in the last six months, thousands of people participated in our activities and over 800 guests from Washington and South Africa have visited our region.

P2K continues to invest in our region and lead programs for the empowerment of our communities in Israel and abroad. Empowerment which we hope will promote active and involved social leadership both here in Israel and abroad, in Washington and in South Africa. The "Living Bridge" idea between our communities has solidified and our P2K "family" grows from year to year. Many of the organizations which received our support are now able to stand on their own. We stand proud at the end of ten years and look forward to the next decade of communal involvement and leadership.