Quick Links
Online Resources
|
Partnership 2000
The Michigan/Central Galilee Partnership 2000 encourages and fosters
enduring relationships between Jewish communities in Michigan and the
Central Galilee. Federation's leadership works closely with representatives
of municipal authorities and a strong network of volunteers to develop
activities of mutual interest and benefit.
Partnership 2000 provides a variety of programs in the following areas:
For more information about Partnership 2000, visit www.partner.org.il.
Partnership 2000 Programs:
People To People
- Young Leadership
- The Young Leadership program is a parallel leadership development
program for men and women between the ages of 27 to 45 from Michigan
and the Central Galilee. These groups are comprised of individuals
who have demonstrated leadership ability and have shown a desire to
learn and do more for their Jewish communities. The program includes
interactions with community lay leadership, hands-on training and development
of leadership skills, participation in national and regional leadership
conferences, exchanges, and joint projects between the Michigan and
Central Galilee groups.
- Professional Exchanges
- One unique aspect of Michigan's partnership with the Central Galilee
is its opportunities for the two communities to learn and grow together
within specific fields of expertise. Professional exchanges, such as
the Educator's, Women's and Hospice exchanges, have provided successful
avenues to accomplish this goal. For example, the Educator's Exchange
of March 2002 brought seven educators from the Region to Michigan to
create and further develop educational programs with a select group
of metro Detroit counterparts for implementation both here in Michigan
and in the Central Galilee. With this highly successful visit, a reverse
trip is planned where the Michigan participants will travel to the
Region and follow up on the projects developed during the Israelis'
visit.
- YAD Mission Extensions in the Region
- For the Detroit participants of the annual national Young Adult Mission
to Israel, this extension allows participants to travel throughout
the Region and become acquainted with the many Partnership 2000 programs,
as well as personally connect, interact, and volunteer with the men,
women, and children of the Central Galilee.
top of page
Youth Exchanges
- Birthright Israel
- This unique, first-time trip to Israel for metro Detroit college
students incorporates participation of Israeli students from Michigan's
Partnership 2000 Region. The involvement of the Israeli students encourages
friendships between the two peer groups, while enhancing their Michigan
peers' Israel experience. The participating Israelis subsequently visit
metro Detroit and their American Birthright friends, learning about
the local Jewish and campus communities.
- Teen Mission
- Geared towards metro Detroit Jewish teens entering grades 10-12,
Teen Mission is a biennial, month-long, congregation-based trip to
Israel. The adventure is designed to provide opportunities for Detroit
and Israeli participants to learn about Israeli society, culture, politics,
and religion, as well as to nurture their Jewish identity; all while
hiking, rappelling, and snorkeling in Israel. An exciting feature of
the Teen Mission is the time spent in the Central Galilee with their
Partnership 2000 Region friends and families.
- Teen Mission Mifgash
- An integral part of the Teen Mission, the Mifgash, or "Encounter," encourages
metro Detroit teens to establish friendships with their Israeli counterparts.
In addition to the Israeli teenagers joining the Mission itself in
Israel, these students, who all hail from Michigan's Partnership 2000
Region, visit Detroit during the spring prior to the summer experience
in an effort for the Israeli and American participants to meet each
other and develop meaningful relationships. The families of the Detroit
Teen Mission participants host the Israeli teens and share in a week
of educational and social events together.
- Camp Tamarack
- 2002 was the year that Detroit would have sent hundreds of youth
to Israel on its biennial Teen Mission. Due to the intafada in Israel
Detroit community leaders decided to bring bring 300 Israelis (200
from the Central Galilee) to Michigan to participate in a summer camping
program at Camp Tamarack. The Camp Tamarack program was an extremely
positive experience for everyone involved, from the campers to the
Michigan "adoptive families", and we look forward to watching
the relationships that were developed over the summer continue to grow
over the years.
top of page
Jewish Identity
- Joint Reading Project
- Initiated by both teacher assignments and students' desire to communicate
with a similar peer group in another country, the Joint Reading Project
has created linkages between teachers and students from the Jewish
Academy of Metropolitan Detroit and the Ort Rogozin High School in
Migdal HaEmek in the Central Galilee. Pairing the two schools requires
preparation and collaboration by the teachers and administrators. Most
importantly, the Project allows the students to learn from the same
texts and material in the same time frame and then dialogue about them
in creative ways, such as via joint projects, mail, phone conversations,
e-mail, and videoconferencing.
- Beit Midrash
- The Partnership 2000 Joint Beit Midrash is comprised of the Central
Galilee Beit Midrash and the Michigan Beit Midrash. These two groups
share a similar study plan, which has focused in previous years on
the Jewish holidays, prayer, and current issues of concern to both
communities. The Joint Beit Midrash provides another meaningful way
to nurture significant personal and group relationships between the
Central Galilee and Michigan communities, while fostering Jewish identity
and communal involvement.
- Land of Our Heritage
- Jointly developed by Partnership 2000 and the Dirshu Institute of
Jewish Education, the Land of Our Heritage educational program aims
to provide participants with a greater understanding of the historical
and political history of the Land of Israel, specifically the nature
of the Jewish claim to the land, the challenges it has faced through
the centuries, and the current Israeli-Arab conflict. One component
of the six-part series focuses on the Central Galilee and the unique
role the region has played in ancient times and its significance to
the modern Jewish state. Supplemented with extensive written and audio-visual
material, the program is an important tool for those involved in education,
Jewish activism, politics and advocacy.
top of page
Women's Programs
- Women's Department
- Follow your heart. It will lead you to our door. Serving as a vital link between Jewish family life and community life, Federation’s Women’s Department is committed to welcoming and empowering women of all ages and stages of life. As one of the most trusted and effective philanthropic organizations in the world, we work to deliver help to those in need and to fulfill the dreams of a vibrant Jewish community, here at home in Detroit, in Israel and around the world.
- The Adele Mondry Women's Center
- The Mondry Women's Center in Nazareth Illit sponsors educational
programming relating to women's issues and regional concerns. Topics
have included empowerment, equality, creative expression and co-existence
amongst Arab and Jewish women. A recent topic of concern promoted awareness
of women's health through lectures, conferences, leadership programs,
and a support hotline. Target populations in the region include new
immigrants, the elderly, and professionals.
- Support for Female Abuse Victims
- Developed in conjunction with the Jewish Family Service of Metropolitan
Detroit and funded by the Washtenaw County Jewish Federation in Ann
Arbor, the Support for Female Abuse Victims program is comprised of
a regional network of women volunteers in the Central Galilee who assist
female abuse victims break away from the circle of violence. By lending
an attentive ear, providing support and counseling, and mediating assistance
from governmental support services, the volunteers work towards helping
the victims better deal with the physical and mental challenges that
result from their abusive situations. The volunteers are also able
to help the abused women deal with the resulting social, economic,
and cultural impacts; issues that are often beyond the scope of the
state-sponsored services.
top of page
Social Welfare
- Israel Emergency Fund
- In light of the current situation in Israel, the Jewish Community
of Metropolitan Detroit has designated funds raised through the Israel
Emergency Campaign to assist with social welfare needs in our Partnership
2000 Region. Food baskets, after school programs, and supplementing
security throughout the Region are some of the ways the Detroit community
is making sure that the immediate needs in our Region are met.
- Integration of Olim
- By involving new immigrants and veteran Israelis in community activities
that promote a supportive environment, this project emphasizes tolerance
and acceptance of others through weekly integrative activities and
tutorial programs. Implemented in schools and community centers in
Nazareth Illitand Migdal Emek, , activities are open to the public
and work to enhance community self-esteem, consolidation, and integration.
- The Milton and Lois Shiffman Home Hospice of the Valleys
- Developed by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit's Jewish
Hospice and Chaplaincy Network, and coordinated by Kupot Holim Klalit,
the Milton and Lois Shiffman Home Hospice of the Valleys provides or
home hospice service needs (medical, nursing and social work) for terminally
ill patients and their families in the Central Galilee (Arab, Jewish
and Christian).
- Hafuch al Hafuch
- Located in Migdal HaEmek, the Hafuch al Hafuch program funded by
the Jewish Federation of Grand Rapids, provides troubled and at-risk
youth with a safe, friendly, and informative environment to escape
from the fears and anxieties of current daily life in Israel. The Center
trains both its youth and adult staff members and volunteers in guidance
and counseling, as well as in mediation with parents or other social
welfare services, when necessary. Youth volunteers coordinate events,
holiday parties, educational seminars and the Hafuch al Hafuch newsletter.
Cultural liaisons, olim who are already integrated in Israeli society,
serve as key role models and counselors for new immigrant teenagers,
as they can empathize with the difficulties the youth face and offer
them support and friendship.
top of page
Jewish/Arab Coexistence
- Creative Coexistence Leadership
- This program, geared towards Arab and Jewish high school youth, develops
leadership, Jewish/Arab cross-culture interaction, tolerance, and understanding.
By pairing each of the three municipalities of the Partnership 2000
Region with three neighboring Arab cities, 60 young people are actively
involved in workshops to reinforce national and bi-national identity
and to plan and implement joint community projects.
- Notes of Harmony
- Music students and teachers participate in school music programs
and music centers in both Jewish and Arab towns and cities in the Central
Galilee. The program offers the Jewish and Arab music students the
opportunity to enrich their individual musical experiences by studying,
practicing and performing music together. Additionally, the project
provides a forum for the music instructors to share resources and enhance
skills through a variety of workshops, focusing on choirs, string ensembles,
wind instrument ensembles, and ensembles that integrate oriental (Arabic),
classical, and folk music. This program fosters an environment of interaction
and understanding.
- Strings of Peace
- The program spearheaded by the Music Center at the Jezreel Valley
Center for the Arts and Culture, brings Jewish and Arab children together
to play violin. Meeting weekly, together with their parents, children
from Kibbutz Sarid and the Arab village of Manshiat Zebda, both in
the Jezreel Valley, participate in individual as well as group violin
lessons. The music sessions provide the children with an opportunity
to learn violin basics, sing in Hebrew and Arabic, perform concerts,
and participate in other activities that attempt to build closer relationships
based on friendship, understanding, mutual trust, and music.
top of page
|
