As a result of the cooperation between the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Jewish Federations of St. Louis and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta in the Partnership 2000 project, thirteen members of a community volunteer leadership group from Yokneam-Meggido recently traveled to the U.S, where they met the Jewish communities of St Louis and Atlanta and learned from them how to build a community solely on the basis of volunteering.
"For the last two years," said Kochava Rosenfeld, a resident of the Yokneam Moshava, "We have worked on forming a strong group, strengthening the ties between us, learning about the region with its needs and inherent difficulties and problems, and acquiring tools necessary for our volunteer responsibilities."
Ronen Shapira, the director of the Yokneam Community Center who accompanied the mission to the U.S., said that the Jewish communities in Atlanta and St. Louis are built and expanded solely on the basis of volunteer activities and resources that come from contributions.
"Partnership 2000 serves as an excellent vehicle for rallying volunteer community activists," said Atlanta/St. Louis Federation Representative in Israel Laura Kindler. In the Yokneam-Megiddo region, there's close cooperation which enables this type of activity. The Jewish Agency initiates similar groups throughout Israel.
"We traveled to the U.S.," added Rosenfeld, "to learn how to build a community in this manner. We learned a tremendous amount about how to organize such efforts and delegate responsibilities to teams, committees, etc. But more than anything, the meetings we had with them impressed upon us their strong ties to Judaism and Israel. The most forceful message we received was that they are with us all the time-that we are always in their hearts. We saw how anxious they were to hear news about Israel, and that really strengthened all of us.
"We visited a synagogue on the day there was a terrorist attack in Jerusalem. To our surprise, everyone there stood up and said the Kaddish Prayer, mentioning each of the victims by name."
Since returning to Israel, group members are looking for ways to adapt the Atlanta/St. Louis lay leadership model, said Jewish Agency Regional Manager Judy Yuda. They were inspired by what they saw and learned there. Moreover, they are thinking in terms of what activities can benefit the Partnership.
"We are now looking forward to integrating some members of the group into the decision making process of Partnership and seeing them involved in the many activities the partnership supports and sponsors within the region," added Yuda. "Groups such as these are important assets to the partnership."
The most important thing now, everyone agrees, is to maintain and expand on the ties created. Two weeks ago, for example, the family that hosted Rosenfeld in St. Louis visited Israel on a private family trip, and Rosenfeld hosted them in her home. "We all had a real sense of family," she said.
The partnership has built a much wider circle of connections, Kindler added, engaging lay leadership and volunteers from the four partner communities. The relationship builds a sense of community stronger than each component community in and of itself.
During the delegation's visit to Atlanta, Super Sunday took place. In this annual event, hundreds of young Jews gather to make contact by telephone with all the Jewish households in Atlanta, requesting their support for the community. Simon Alfasi, the mayor of Yokneam, made a special point of calling the Federation that day and contributing to the campaign, which moved all those involved. The members of our delegation, who felt a real commitment to the efforts being made at the event, also contributed their share.
On Friday of that week, a very special ceremony awaited the members of the delegation at the Davis Academy where 400 children ages 5-14 from Atlanta, Argentina, and the ORT Holon School donned kippot and conducted a Kabbalat Shabbat service.
After five days in Atlanta, the delegation flew to St. Louis, where they were hosted by many Federation leaders. Delegation members were particularly impressed by Sam Fox, whose community activism makes him a role model which they would like to emulate.
The St. Louis Jewish Federation and its member agencies encompass the gamut of Jewish community activity locally, and embrace the broader global Jewish community. The people of Yokneam and Meggido feel the warmth of St. Louis' dedication, knowing they are members of its extended family.
Ronen Shapira said that for the first time in his life, he truly felt proud to be a Jew. The strong sense that Jews around the world are united is extremely moving, he noted, giving us a tremendous feeling of belonging to the Jewish people.