A delegation of young people from the Karmiel-Misgav partner communities visited their counterparts in Pittsburgh, at the beginning of August.

The 18-member delegation visited the United States after more than six months of preparation in Israel. In addition, the group hosted 14 young Jewish Pittsburghers in a Karmiel Misgav region this past summer (July 20-26).

Prior to the delegation's arrival, their Pittsburgh hosts prepared an interesting and busy schedule. This included a series of meetings with key community leaders and visits to a variety of city Jewish and non-Jewish institutions. Furthermore, the group held a number of workshops where they discussed issues relating to Jewish Identity and Israel-Diaspora relations. These discussions led to an interesting exchange between the members of the delegation and group moderators.

Over the the following week they visited a variety of congregations throughout the city with their host families giving them the unique opportunity to compare Shabbat in Pittsburgh with that that they experience in Israel. The hours they spent at the homes of their Pittsburgh hosts gave the young people an interesting glimpse into the American way of life.

In addition to the various meetings and seminars, the young people had lots of fun. They toured the city and its rivers in vintage World War II amphibious vehicles, rode the amusement rides at Kennywood Park, shopped and enjoyed some of Pittsburgh's excellent restaurants, etc.

Together with their Pittsburgh hosts, the delegation traveled to Washington D.C. where they received special briefings from representatives of both the US State Department and the Israeli Embassy as well as toured many of the city's historical monuments, buildings and institutions.

Upon concluding the Pittsburgh leg of their visit, the group moved on to New York City where they toured the "Big Apple" from top to bottom.

On August 11th,  the Karmiel-Misgav delegation returned home tired but satisfied with their visit, although a bit sad that they were forced to say goodbye to their new found Pittsburgh friends.