The G.A., the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations in North America and Canada, takes place annually. This time the G.A. was held in Israel, which was the Federations' way to support Israel, not only in words but in deeds as well, and with the most amazing result.
The first day (Sunday) was dedicated to Partnership 2000. In several meetings, relating to Partnership 2000 past and current activities as well as hopes and visions for the future were discussed. In several workshops, which took place simultaneously, in which participation was determined according to the subject of your interest - such as 'Gesher le Kesher", volunteers and activists, the relationship between Partnership volunteers and local authorities - is it productive or counter-productive?, interactions between Partnership organizations here and overseas, volunteer-led projects, and more….
Discussions were both interesting and gripping, and we especially valued the tremendous seriousness of our partners from overseas, meaning all of them, not only from Detroit, in the way they related to this wonderful project, "Partnership 2000", which was heart-warming. I also have to 'boast' about the manner in which our Partnership 2000 organization lead one of the workshops. Seated at the hosting table were, David Techner - Chairman of the American Steering Committee, Tova Dorfman - Representative of the Community in Israel, Gadi Faran - Chairman of the Volunteer Forum, and Deborah Blum -Advisor to other Partnership organizations also organizing wonderful projects and activities. Although it does not sound very humble, I must say that we outdo them by far. We must always learn from others, and although there is much to learn, we can be very proud of what we do. There is no doubt, that the driving force and the unfailing support we volunteers receive from the community in Michigan, has a positive effect on our activities, for which I am really grateful.
In the afternoon, a "Partnership 2000 Festival" in the form of a promenade, took place held in 'Binyanei Hauma', where each Partnership manned a stand presenting their projects and activities. Some stands focused on various projects, others sold objects created in one of their projects, etc. We, Partnership 2000 of Central Galilee chose to emphasize our 'Holiday Booklets' project. Gadi Faran, Yair Hammer and Edna Shapira starred on the stand as our volunteer representatives. The booklets were warmly welcomed by the Americans, especially the last ones in which texts are both in Hebrew and English (I would like to stress that we were the only stand distributing material for free). We also gave out our last calendar with its elegant design which was, almost needless to say, also created by our volunteers. We answered a great number of questions, while the interest in all our other projects was tremendous - Central Galilee has a great reputation for its volunteer activities and abilities.
At the end of the 'Festival' we were invited to the main event - the official G.A. opening ceremony, with the President of Israel, the Prime Minister and other officials from Israel, the U.S. and Canada presence as guests of honor. This was a most impressive and moving ceremony. The next day we participated in more workshops up to the spectacular "solidarity" march which began at 16.00 o'clock, starting from Binyanei Hauma, leading through the streets of Jerusalem, and ending at Zion Square. Vast numbers of people marched in an orderly way, community after community, each carrying the Israeli flag, colorful balloons and demonstration boards, all chanting, forming a vast choir singing Hebrew songs - in support of Israel. Just imagine the sight, over 4000 people from abroad, some of which are not the youngest anymore but who did not want to miss this for the world, all marching - fantastic!!!
We were all, well…, I was for certain, very moved. Jerusalem was, at least for a short while, a place of sheer joy. No clouds shading the city, allowing us, if only for a moment, to forget our fear of terrorist attacks, to ignore the vast number of policemen, soldiers and civil guard volunteers, securing the event, to concentrate on this feeling of elation. If only I could thank them and convey my feelings and those of the other Israeli participants. Thank you!
Nisan 5764 - March 2004