From Na'im Be'yahad - (Pleasant Being Together) - Partnership 2000 Volunteer Newsletter, Writer and Editor: Israel Perez. Translation: Dorit Tavori

The 'Deutsch' family of Detroit made a donation allowing completion of the restoration of the ancient synagogue in 'Zippori'

A great number of local citizens, archeologists, ministry of tourism officials, 'Partnership 2000' members and the Zippori National Park management attended the festive inauguration of the restored ancient synagogue in Zippori.

The recently restored ancient synagogue, contains a great number of amazingly beautiful mosaics, some of them almost completely intact, depicting scenes of Jewish life during that period in 'Zippori' as well as several biblical scenes. 'Partnership 2000 'had good reason to consider 'Zippori' a great tourist attraction as well as a valuable source of inspiration, teaching us about Jewish values and life during ancient times. Zippori also is the core subject of an educational project, teaching subjects such as Jewish tradition, history and values throughout time. Ms. Tova Dorfman, representing the Jewish Federation of Detroit in Israel, stated that the objective of project is teaching the young generation about the values of Jewish tradition, using the period of Rabi Yehuda Hanasi as an example of a period of great spiritual and cultural growth. This project operates in 13 primary schools in the area, and is funded and supported by 'Partnership 2000'. Ms. Dorfman used this opportunity to thank all the volunteers who have helped with the project and mentioned that 'Partnership 2000' considers 'Zippori National Park' to be of great importance and has therefore 'adopted' the project. The Jewish community of Detroit has collected donations for various large projects in the park. One of these projects dealt with the restoration of the ancient synagogue in 'Zippori'. For this purpose the Deutsch family has donated 250 thousand US dollars, enabling conclusion of the excavations and exhibition of the beautiful mosaics in the synagogue.

During the opening ceremony, Ethan Broshi - head of the Yizre'el Valley Regional Council said that the inauguration of the restored synagogue actually represents the end of a cycle, which helps us perceive the dimension and the beauty of the Jewish community in Galilee during thousands of years, especially now in this difficult period, when many tourists are canceling their visits to Israel, is it important to appreciate the added value of this place that commemorates the past and preserves it for our future generations. At the end of his speech Broshi presented the granddaughter of the Deutsch family, who made this generous donation, with a present from the regional council.

  Tevet 5761 - January 2001