At the end of January, the Partnership region hosted the first Congregational Rabbis and Presidents mission.

The enthusiastic participants were: Rabbi John Spitzer of Canton with the Temple president Lee Karelitz and Ed Buxbaum the Federation Exec. Director, Rabbi David Kaufman of Des Moines, Rabbi Jon Adland of Indianapolis and chaired by Rabbi Stanley Miles of Louisville with the Temple president Kathy Karr.

The program focused on seeing and experiencing the Partnership so as to plan how to engage congregations with the Partnership.

It rained and the winds blew but the Rabbis did not want to miss any of the following components:
At the first day the participants toured from Rosh Hanikra to Peki'in following stories and midrashim from the Bible and Talmud. They visited the synagogue in Peki'in where there has been continuous Jewish settlement since the Second Temple period.

At the second day they visited the Ghetto Fighters' House Museum, met with the Partnership staff and learn about the broad base of Partnership activity.

After the visit to Wings (Nahariya apartment for physically challenged young adults who are learning to live on their own) and to the Western Galilee hospital the Rabbis heard the amazing story of an Ethiopian immigrant who walked to Sudan during Operation Moses as a child (1985) and now devotes herself to work with the most recent Falash Mura Ethiopian immigrants in the Absorption Center.

At the third day the mission met with the dedicated Youth Futures trustees while visiting with the young kids at the Akko Gordon School. Than, they visited the Hesder Yeshiva in Akko where the guys study and do their army service and volunteer their time in community efforts in Akko.

At ORT junior high school the participants met with students who are involved in twinning programs and some of the Triwizards (Arab and Jewish high school students who twin with a public school in Canton) for a presentation and small group discussions about what they do and how it impacts upon them.

At last they met with Sveta, director of Hafouch to hear about the impact of Hafouch within and outside the center itself with the Jewish and Arab population in Akko.

During the visit Kathy Karr , professional flautist, that serves as the Temple president in Louisville, played her flute for enthusiastic audiences at the Acco kindergarten and taught Master Classes to grateful students at the Akko and Matte Asher Conservatories, etc.