36 | JUNE 23 • 2022 

Editor’s Note: The JN 
will begin a regular series 
of stories from Detroit’s 
Partnership2Gether region. 
Here is an overview of the 
program to get it started.
S

ince 1994, 
three Michigan 
communities: 
Metro Detroit, Ann Arbor 
and Grand Rapids, have 
partnered with three 
municipalities in Israel: 
Migdal HaEmek, Nof Hagalil 
(formerly Nazareth Illit) and 
the Jezreel Valley — a region 
referred to as the “Central 
Galilee.”
This partnership, backed 

by the Jewish Federation of 
Metropolitan Detroit, is the 
Partnership2Gether (P2G) 
program. 
A program of the Jewish 
Agency for Israel, with 46 
partnerships connecting 400 
Jewish communities around 
the world, the program 
was originally designed to 
address needs in Israel. 
Today, the Partnership 
strives to build significant 
opportunities and 
sustain long-lasting 
relationships through a 
variety of collaborative 
programs and shared 
resources, strengthening 
both communities. As an 

example, the partnership has 
continued moving forward 
during the pandemic when 
travel was massively limited. 

THE PARTNERSHIP 
IN THE BEGINNING
P2G had simple intentions 
in the beginning — with 
Federation taking care of 
the Israeli region, usually 
sending money there, but 
nothing like the two-way 
interaction the program sees 
today.
“Initially, it was a pipeline 
of funding resources for 
these communities that had 
certain needs,” said Dona 
Stillman, director of the P2G 

program. “And 
over time, a lot 
of very strong 
relationships 
started to form 
between the folks 
over there and 
people here in 
our community. 
“It’s sort of been a 
progression over time of 
strengthening and focusing 
in on those relationships 
rather than just the projects 
we do, which, of course, are 
important, but I think today 
most people would say the 
projects are just a means to 
connection and relationships 
between people.”
Stillman has been in 
her current role for more 
than three years but began 
her relationship with P2G 
around 2005. In that time, 
she has seen the partnership 
evolve in a major way, 
starting with the creation of 
the Israeli camper program 
about 20 years ago. The 
program sees kids from 
the partnership region 
attending Tamarack Camps 
in Ortonville during the 
summer.
“I think that was the first 
big shift. It was a real sea 
change in the partnership 
because it was created from 
something that was strictly 
happening over there. If you 
knew about it, you knew 
about it, but if you didn’t 
know, you had no way of 
knowing. It was insiders-
only in terms of the Detroit 
Jewish community,” Stillman 
said. 
“When the Israeli Camper 
Program started, that really 
brought this partnership 
to our community, started 
making it more available 

The P2G program smoothly pivoted to virtual 
during the pandemic, continuing its success.
An Enduring Partnership

Dona 
Stillman

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

ERETZ
FROM OUR PARTNERSHIP 
REGION IN ISRAEL

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FEDERATION

This year, Israeli campers are 
returning to Camp Tamarack 
after a two-year hiatus.

