By Adina Young Swissa

Netivot - Sedot Negev - Philadelphia Partnership 2000 enjoyed a year filled with activities. Two delegations visited Philadelphia, many groups visited in Netivot-Sedot Negev and took part in different educational, social, experiential and voluntary activities.

Visits of Adults, Active Individuals and Personnel

The Men's Cabinet: In May a delegation of men from the Federation came to visit the region as part of the Young Leadership Development Program. They spent half a day in the region. They received a security briefing from Security Officer Rafi Babian and took a tour of the Sedot Negev area accompanied by Meir Yifrach, the Head of the Regional Council. Thereafter they came to Netivot for a tour of the city and a meeting with the Mayor, Yehiel Zohar. For lunch they met with businessmen, entrepreneurs and freelancers from the region with the goal of becoming more acquainted with the economic life in the region. After lunch they sat around discussing their trip ("Cocus") said their goodbyes.

Steering Committee: In May a Joint Steering Committee was held in the region. At the meeting an exhibition of the new projects as part of the Gesher L'Kesher and the Education and Community programs was presented. The Steering Committee members heard a survey on the security situation in the region, met with participants of the projects and strengthened the ties between them.

Joint Choir Assembly: Choirs of the Beit Or Synagogue and Temple Shalom conducted by Patty Kaplan, visited the region and took part the in the regional Choir Assembly held in the Tennenbaum Conservatory.  The Netivot Singing Group, conducted by Mr. Yossi Zeifret and the Sedot Negev Singing Group conducted by Mr. Ezra Moriel participated in the assembly. All of the choirs sang their own repertoire of songs to the other participants.

All of the participants were invited to lunch prepared by a women's group in Netivot who participate in an ethnic cooking project. The amazement and the compliments about the lunch the women prepared were so great that our guests were moved by the whole situation to the point of shedding tears. The meal was accompanied by joint singing and dancing on the part of all the participants.

After lunch everyone returned to the Conservatory to learn the song "Greetings". Conductor Yossi Zeifret  had everyone sing together. The participants enjoyed the professional guidance and the harmony created from the combination of all the voices together.

Youth Groups

In honor of Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations in Philadelphia and as part of a joint effort by the Philadelphia Jewish Federation and the Partnership region, a nine-member delegation from the region was invited for a series of performances in Philadelphia's Jewish community.
We were happy to accept the delegation back in Israel after a successful round of performances, feeling satisfied about the joint effort as well as the experiential encounter with members of the Jewish community.

Youth Leadership Delegation: Cooperation between the Netivot Youth Council, the Sedot Negev Council and the youth of Philadelphia began in May of this year. The youth of Philadelphia, who participated in the "Youth Leadership" visit, spent two days with their peers in the region painting shelters at Mosav Yoshveya. In the evening all the youth gathered round a bonfire in the Sharsharet Forest and prepared dinner while singing together.

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 came for a short visit to become acquainted with the area. They underwent a security briefing on the situation of the Gaza envelope, drove south together to tour the Dead Sea Region and Massada. The participants greatly enjoyed the encounter and the joint tour.

Mifgashim: This youth encounter program, now in its tenth year, brought together 15 local youth with 6 youth from Philadelphia for 20 days of joint experiences, study and intensified acquaintance with one another and with each other's new and unfamiliar cultures. During their visit the Philadelphia youth together toured Israel and were hosted by the participants of the program.

During the second part of the program in which the youth of the region visited Philadelphia, together they toured Philadelphia, New York and Washington. The participants were hosted at the homes of the participants from Philadelphia, and they learned the meaning of the Jewish community in their lives and about the activities of the Jewish Federation at the different levels.

Twenty intensive days served as the beginning of the deep and long-lasting ties formed between the participants, both between neighbors and between the youth from both sides of the ocean.

Operation Understanding: Youth from Philadelphia who participate in the "Operation Understanding" program visited Israel and 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 tear down the walls that separate them and to develop future leadership for Philadelphia. During their visit to the 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 broadened all the participants' horizons.

Students

Hillel: This program has been implemented for four years. It brings Philadelphian Jewish students/young people together with Netivot - Sedot Negev residents to share in joint volunteer work for the community and in joint Israeli experiences. This year 14 students and young people from Philadelphia and the region participated in the 10 day encounter of joint volunteer work for the community in diverse fields of activities. The students from Philadelphia were hosted in the homes of the participants from Netivot-Sedot Negev. Together they planned and carried out volunteer activities, took trips and had discussions and dialogue on issues such as Jewish identity and becoming acquainted with the local life. On the first weekend they took a trip to Jerusalem and Mt. Herzl which fell on the day of memorial for Michael Levine, of blessed memory. The participants participated in the memorial service, which left an impression on everyone who was present. While in Jerusalem on Saturday, they participated in a seminar on the subject of the 9th of Av and in the evening of the 9th of Av they read the book of Lamentations while on the Western Wall.

The main volunteer activities were carried out in cooperation with the Youth Futures Trustees, which included three days of educational activities with children who take part in the Youth Futures program of Netivot - Sedot Negev. In addition cooperative activities were held with Hillel from Sapir College. Together they took on a unique project to collect second hand items from the southern region. This is part of the "Hevrah Be'am" (translated to "Society in the Nation") project led by Hillel Students of Sapir College.

As part of exposure and acquaintance with the region the participants enjoyed unique encounters with special people, underwent security briefing, met with soldiers serving in the Gaza envelope area and even gave them cakes.