By Judy Yuda, Partnership Director

November was an exciting month in Israel.  With so many national events taking place – the Annual UJC General Assembly, the Lions of Judah Conference and the JAFI Assembly, Yokneam geared up to receive friends from Atlanta.

Led by the Greater Atlanta Federation President, Carol Cooper and Executive Director Steve Rakitt, 21 women who came to Israel to attend the Lions of Judah National Conference, visited Yokneam for a day packed with activity on November 13th.  Helping to tell the Partnership story were two veteran P2K friends, Joanie Shubin and Jane Schiff, both past chairs of the Partnership 2000 steering committee.  After an in-depth briefing from Yael Shapira, Atlanta community liaison in Israel, the group set out for hands on activities with children taking part in Federation supported programs.

Joining the children at Biet Ham (after-school program for children at risk), everyone engaged in arts and craft activities. While communication was mostly done by smiles hand signals, many of the children used the opportunity to practice their English.

At the Youth Futures center, guests, children and trustees treated each other to home baked cookies, decorating them with their favorite sweets – chocolate, marshmallow and jelly-beans.

Following the activities with the children, the delegation visited the newly inaugurated women's center GAYA (Hebrew abbreviation for "yes we can").  Lea Fadida, who holds the portfolio for the advancement of women's interests in Yokneam, greeted the participants.  Over coffee and cake, the Atlanta and Yokneam women had an opportunity to get to know one another.

Before heading out for home hospitality, the group was treated to a performance by the Tespa Ethnic dance group, one of the many youth programs supported by Federation funds.