On July 7-18, a 19-member Pittsburgh area "SAJS COMMAY" delegation visited the Carmiel-Misgav Region as part of the ongoing relationship between the two communities in the framework of the Jewish Agency's Partnership 2000 program.

The group, prior to their arrival in Israel, visited Poland as part of a 47 member Pittsburgh delegation that included two Holocaust survivors.

The objective of the program is to assist in youth leadership development and promote personal relationships between young people from the two communities, while at the same time enhancing their Jewish Identity and ties to the State of Israel.

Here in Israel, a stringent selection process among the region's 10th graders began in January of this year and concluded with the selection of 14 area young people, 7 from Carmiel and 7 from Misgav. The selected young people, under the guidance and direction of Yuval Kisus and Galit Nir worked in the subsequent months to formulate a close-knit group, prior to meeting their American counterparts.

On July 5th, the delegation of 19 Pittsburgh-area teenagers arrived in Israel for a visit that included tours to Jerusalem, the Dead Sea and Masada, etc. The group continued northward, arriving in the Carmiel/Misgav region on July 12, for a weeklong visit, hosted in the homes of their Israeli counterparts. During their stay in the region, the two groups visited the Grottos of Rosh Hanikra, an army base on the Golan Heights and in Tzafat. They also went whitewater rafting on the Jordan River and rappelled down the Dalton Cliffs in the Upper Galilee.

The group was present at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Carmiel Dance Festival and participated in workshops that reviewed subjects such as Jewish Identity, Israel-Diaspora Relations and other ideological issues.

The young people also spent part of their visit in the region doing communal work at the "Kefiada", an English language summer day camp for area children sponsored by Partnership 2000.

At the end of July, a Carmiel/Misgav delegation will conduct a two-week reciprocal visit to the Pittsburgh area.

  Av 5764 - July 2004