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Michigan and the Central Galilee
share an unbreakable bond.

FROM TOP: The Partnership2Gether steering committee
visits an Ethiopian National Project school in Migdal
Haemek this April. Pictured with students are Sylvia
Wolf, Karen Simmons, Rachael Gordon and Max Gordon.

The steering committee visits Beit She’an National Park.

A recent Detroit Community Birthright group visits
Kibbutz Merhavia in the Central Galilee.

26

May 17 • 2018

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JASON RUBENFIRE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

S

ince 1994, the Jewish Agency’s
Partnership2Gether (P2G) pro-
gram has united Metro Detroit,
Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor with
the Central Galilee region of Israel,
made up of three municipalities:
Migdal HaEmek, Nazareth Illit and
the Jezreel Valley. The region is
home to Orthodox Jews, Russian-
speaking immigrants, Arab villages
and, of course, many other Israeli
families and individuals.
The Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit was matched
initially in 1994 with this region as
part of a broader Israel-diaspora
initiative called Partnership 2000.
Under the leadership of then-
Federation Executive Vice President
Bob Aronson, this partnership has
grown from one originally designed
to address needs in Israel to an
unbreakable bond that mutually
benefits both communities.
The past several years have also
seen the creation of a new hiking/
biking path covering the entire
region. People from local schools,
Arab villages and all three munici-
palities have come together to clear
the path, dispose of litter and oth-
erwise develop the project. A large
event on May 11 brought together
individuals from across the Central
Galilee to celebrate the bike path’s
creation as the project nears com-
pletion.
The work done on the path has
created new relationships and a
renewed spirit of cooperation, both
within the Central Galilee and with
Michiganders, making it a testa-
ment to the hard work of commu-
nity members and the Michigan
Partnership 2Gether program.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION

Perhaps the most vital and impor-
tant outcome of P2G has been the
partnership’s support of English
language instruction. In the Central

Central Galilee 11th-graders comingle on the Naim BeYahad bike trail.

Galilee, it is often difficult to get
qualified English teachers, making
the instruction provided by the part-
nership invaluable. Since 2006, stu-
dents in the Central Galilee receive
extra hours of English instruction
thanks to a program in conjunction
with P2G and the Jerusalem Post’s
“Lite Talk” service.
“We are very proud of our English
language programs,” says Jennifer
Levine, Michigan Federation’s Israel
and Overseas Department Director.
Many of the region’s students have
passed their English oral matricula-
tion with the highest scores pos-
sible, citing the program as the
reason. This advanced English
language knowledge gives them an
advantage in their future educa-
tional and professional endeavors.
The program has since expanded
to include students from Grade 4
onwards, with 4,000 students par-
ticipating last year.

MORE BENEFITS

In the past year, Detroit delegations
have made 37 visits to the region,
representing more than 750 people.
These visits include Federation mis-
sions, congregation trips, school
trips and professional visits.
A People to People (P2P) program
within the partnership has twinned
Hillel Day School with the region’s
Western Valley School, and more
schools in the Detroit area will con-
tinue to partner with schools in the
region in the future.
Other P2P programs bring young
adults back and forth between both
regions, and a pilot program will
soon be launched for young families.
The Israeli Camper program
began in 2002, when 325 Israeli kids
were sent to Camp Tamarack as a
respite from the Second Intifada.
Each year since, nearly 100 Israelis
come to camp each summer, allow-
ing the partnership to strengthen

a sense of Jewish community both
here and in Israel.
In addition to the camp program,
P2G also engages young adults by
partnering with Teen Mission and
Taglit Birthright trips. Each year,
the Detroit Community Birthright
trip sends more than 80 local young
adults to Israel. Detroit’s Birthright
trip is unique for the emphasis it
places on its partnership region;
an entire day is spent touring the
region and with various programs,
and Detroiters are joined by Israeli
young adults from the partnership
region itself. Each trip also includes
a dinner with an Israeli family. Later
in the year, the Mifgash experience
brings these Israeli participants to
Detroit where they are hosted by
their American friends.
Teen Mission is an educational
experience allowing Jewish teens
the opportunity to experience Israel
and create friendships with each
other. This year, Teen Mission will
send about 100 Americans to Israel,
and 18 young Israelis will partici-
pate as well. Detroiters and Israelis
alike attend the first three weeks
of the trip in Israel while spending
the latter three weeks in the Detroit
area attending Camp Tamarack.
The Central Galilee-Michigan
partnership, currently led by
Partnership 2Gether Program Chair
Richard Broder, is one of reciprocal
and mutual success.
“The partnership programs are
both critical and effective,” Broder
said. “Of parallel importance are the
people-to-people relationships built
up over time through those pro-
grams that continue to strengthen.”
With new program advance-
ments on the horizon and inter-
est in participation steadily rising
among individuals in both coun-
tries, the future for the Central
Galilee-Michigan partnership is
brighter than ever. •