Partnership 2000 Netivot-Sedot Negev - Philadelphia enjoyed an activity-intensive spring and summer. Two groups from Netivot - Sedot Negev visited Philadelphia and many groups from Philadelphia visited Netivot-Sedot Negev and participated in various educational, social, experiential and volunteer activities.
VISITS BY ACTIVISTS, STAFF MEMBERS AND OTHER ADULTS
Steering Committee members, groups from Philadelphia who included a visit to the Region in their Israel itineraries, Renaissance Group members and their counterparts from Netivot-Sedot Negev, families and individuals visited the Region, its residents and a variety of Partnership 2000 projects, helping to promote our partnership. Visitors included Elliot and Maxine Rosen, Claire and Prof. Ed. Newman, Marjorie and Bill Klein, Marcy and Daniel Basin and Andi and Scott Barsky and their three daughters.
PJDS Families: A brief stay in the Region was included in the tour itinerary for families of students at Perelman-Saligman Junior High School in Philadelphia, including an important visit to the Robert Saligman Child Education and Development Center in Sedot Negev, underscoring the link forged by the Saligman Family Foundation created between the school in Philadelphia and the Center in Netivot-Sedot Negev. At the time, a day camp was in session on the premises to prepare children for first grade. Guests played a highly active role in its activities, including acquaintance with animals, as children petted and bonded with rabbits, hamsters, snakes, parrots and more. It was difficult to pull our guests away from the Center. The guests then enjoyed a short stopover at the Kaiserman Spiritual Community Center for Immigrants from Ethiopia.
Steering Committee: The Joint Steering Committee met in our Region last May and reviewed various projects. Members heard reports on the security situation and environmental quality, met with project participants and reinforced ties between us.
Women's Philanthropy Division Delegation - Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia: Women belonging to the Federation's Women's Philanthropy Division visited Istanbul and Israel. During the Israeli part of the trip, they were joined by eight members of the Partnership 2000 Netivot-Sedot Negev Women's Forum. The women heard an edifying lecture about Israel-Diaspora relations on the background of Memorial Day, that was marked the following day. They visited the Ethiopian National Project in Netanya and even joined in youth activities there. Following visits to Or Shalom Association homes, where at-risk youth are raised and educated, delegation participants proceeded to Jerusalem, where they stood with all the nation of Israel at the siren marking the Eve of Memorial Day and organized and conducted a particularly stirring ceremony at the Haas Promenade. On Memorial Day itself, they came to the Region and participated in a ceremony at the cemetery in Netivot. They visited Partnership 2000 projects, viewed the film A Hero in Heaven - telling the story of the late Michael Levin - and shared our experience of sharp transition to the joy of Independence Day. The joint visit was exciting, enriching, enlightening and unifying.
Renaissance Group (Young Leadership) Members in Israel: Young Jews from Philadelphia arrived in the Region for a visit of a few days' duration. Ties between guests and hosts and other young local residents formed with record speed as they spent the weekend together, baking cakes for soldiers and distributing them at the IDF base near Nahal Oz. The bakers eagerly anticipated the soldiers, who had just returned from an operation in the Gaza Strip, waiting until they emerged from their dusty tanks and enjoy a fresh hot slice of cake accompanied by lots of love, admiration and letters from children affiliated with a Philadelphia synagogue.
Young Adults Delegation to Philadelphia: Six young local residents left for a week of acquaintance with the Jewish community in Philadelphia, especially with people their own age. This year, we introduced a new component into the program: Participants prepared brief reviews of various topics according to their respective areas of interest and occupations - formal and informal education, youth leadership and at-risk youth, regional and economic development and future programs. They presented their reviews to Federation employees, Steering Committee members in Philadelphia and in informal conversations during their visit.
The Chevra Group: Forty young people from Philadelphia participating in activities run by The Chevra, a group organizes social, cultural, educational, spiritual and volunteer activities for young Jews in the 20s and 30s. On their arrival, participants were immediately assigned to host families, with whom they prepared cakes and other collations for soldiers. The guests and hosts went to the Nabia Mari Observation Point to hand out their home-made baked goods to soldiers, but because of changes in the army's schedule, the only soldiers at the site were members of the entourage of the Deputy Commander of the Gaza Division, Col. Erez Katz, who chose to show up at the perfect moment. Col. Katz provided a superb review of the situation and of IDF activity in the area and took the cakes with him in his jeep to distribute among soldiers in his Division. A joint dinner in a marvelous atmosphere concluded the brief visit.
PROFESSIONAL DELEGATIONS
Homeland Security Personnel from Pennsylvania: This is the second time that Federation Government Activities Director Robin Schatz has organized a special delegation for senior personnel responsible for homeland security in Philadelphia and elsewhere in the State of Pennsylvania. The guests observed an exercise demonstrating the capabilities of security forces in Netivot, participated in a security tour and visited the emergency supply storeroom set up as part of the Israel Emergency Campaign.
Educators (NACIE - Makom): Educators from Philadelphia and Florida visited the Region for a day and a half of intense activity, during which they discussed various educational issues with their local colleagues, joined them in viewing the film A Hero in Heaven and discussed it with them after the screening. The guests were hosted at homes of local residents for dinner. Once again, it was difficult to tear the guests away from their hosts. Both asked to have the group's stay extended and were gladly answered in the affirmative.
YOUTH GROUPS
Youth Leadership Delegation: The first sign of cooperation between the Youth Councils of Netivot and Sedot Negev and youth in Philadelphia took place in May of this year. Youngsters from Philadelphia who visited the Region as part of the Senior - Youth Leadership delegation spent a few hours with their local counterparts, participated in an orienteering exercise in the outskirts of Netivot and Sedot Negev and prepared dinner for themselves that they ate around a campfire, accompanying their meal with community singing.
Satell Foundation Leadership Program Participants: Youth from Philadelphia who participate in the leadership development program met with their peers from the Region who belong to the Youth Councils of Netivot and Sedot Negev. The participants toured the Dead Sea Region and Masada, spent Shabbat in local style and then had a campfire and drum circle in the Sharsheret Forest. The guests also participated in an orienteering exercise and security tour and visited the new Volume Center, where they really enjoyed music and song in a youthful spirit.
Mifgashim: This youth encounter program, now in its tenth year, brought together 15 youngsters from the Region and ten from Philadelphia for 20 days of joint experiences, study and intensified acquaintance with one another and with each other's new and unfamiliar culture. The visit to Jerusalem coincided with a memorial day for the late Michael Levin and the schedule was adjusted so that visitors could participate in the memorial ceremony on Mt. Herzl, an event that left its impression on all who were present. These 20 intensive days served as an introduction to deep, long-term ties that began to form between participants, regardless of whether they were neighbors or separated by the ocean.
Operation Understanding: Youth from Philadelphia who participate in the program arrived in Israel and visited the Region after their trip to Senegal. The visiting group consisted of Jewish and African-American youth participating in a prestigious one-year program in which each ethnic group learns about the other, seeking to lower the walls that separate them and to develop future leadership for Philadelphia. Visits to Senegal and Israel are included in the program. When they came to our Region, the guests met with local youth, both veteran Israelis and youngsters from Club 51, the club for youth of Ethiopian immigrant origin. The encounter was interesting and broadening for all participants.
STUDENTS
Hillel: The program is now in its third year. Participants consisted of eight students who live or study in Philadelphia and seven young people from Netivot-Sedot Negev - students who have completed their military or national service (except for one still on active duty) engaged in a variety of activities typical of young Israelis aged 19-26. Program participants volunteered to prepare shelters for emergencies, paint facilities at kindergartens, socialize with adults with special needs at the Michnaf Center, help organize a second-hand clothing store, assist the elderly at Day Centers and work at the Kaiserman Center for the Ethiopian immigrant community. Volunteer activities culminated in a happening that the participants planned during their visit for children from the Kaiserman Center. The smiles of the faces of all present clarified how much joy this activity brought its organizers and the children who participated in enjoyable activities and games. The innovation introduced into the program was the one-day seminar in Jerusalem on the topic of The Two Faces of Israel - A Democracy and a Jewish State. The day included visits to the Supreme Court and the Knesset, where we met with Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson, Chair of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, to discuss the idea of a constitution for Israel. Participants also wrote a declaration of independence themselves, comparing it with Israel's and discussing the differences.
Birthright (Taglit): A group of students arrived for a very brief visit to the Region as part of Birthright, where they learned about the past and present security situation at Sa'ad Observation Point.
SCHOOL CONTACTS
Films: As part of school contact activities, two films were made by Sally Mitlas from Philadelphia, on the topic of A Day in the Life of a Student - One for the Daat School in Kibbutz Saad and the Perelman-Saligman Junior High School in Philadelphia and the other for the Mamlachti High School in Netivot and the BZBI Day School in Philadelphia. Each of the films focused on four students - two at each school - accompanying them at school, at home and as they participate in various activities. The first film was screened for students and teachers and aroused enthusiastic reactions. It was also screened for the Joint Steering Committee during its meeting last spring. We hope that the films help bring youngsters from Netivot-Sedot Negev and Philadelphia closer to one another and foster motivation to reinforce ties and their bond with Partnership 2000 and its activities.
Perelman-Saligman Junior High School Students: Eighth-graders at the Perelman-Saligman Junior High School participated in a trip to Israel that brought them to our Region on Holocaust Day. Because of the ties formed with the Da'at School at Kibbutz Sa'ad and their previous acquaintance with the students through videoconferencing, the visit to the Region focused on that school. The guests actively participated in Holocaust Day ceremonies at school (lighting candles and reading preselected passages). Ronit Bart of the Da'at School and R. Shawn Simon Hazani of Perelman-Saligman Junior High School planned an enlightening and socially cohesive visit, but all their fine work paled compared with the esprit de corps that developed during the joint soccer game. During lunch, that concluded the visit, both Israeli and American participants approached staff members without hesitation and asked them: "Can we come back here?" "Can we stay?" "Can we invite them to join us on the trip?" The visit was highly successful and left us with a powerful longing for more.
PROGRAMS IN THE REGION
Women's Forum: The Women's Forum has 28 members who engage in personal volunteer activity and are exposed during their activities to a variety of volunteer work options. As always, they are very interested in finding a parallel group in Philadelphia with which they may maintain friendly ties and engage in joint activity. Participation in the visit of women from Philadelphia on the Eve of Memorial Day was highly significant and meaningful and Forum members hope that additional opportunities will be available found for cooperation and for intensification and reinforcement of ties.