Six delegates from Partnership 2000's New Jersey-Delaware Cluster took part in a steering committee consultation mission to their partnered region, Arad-Tamar, in May. Partnership 2000, a joint UJA - Jewish Agency program, links Diaspora communities with Israel's national priority regions. Through Partnership 2000, the twelve Federations composing the Cluster aim to promote Jewish continuity in their home communities, while contributing to the development efforts of their partnered region in Israel's Negev area.

"The communities have a heightened awareness of their Israel connections," says New Jersey's Gerry Flanzenbaum, co-chair of Partnership 2000's regional steering committee. "Partnership 2000 restored a lot of interest that was lost after Project Renewal, with many new people getting involved."

The Tamar Regional Council, composed of five rural settlements, is home to just 1200 people. The neighboring town of Arad, on the other hand, has seen its population grow to 25,000 residents, thanks to the arrival of many new immigrants.

Starting at Kibbutz Ein Gedi, Cluster delegates learned about the tourism based economy of the region, which bounds the Dead Sea. They met with Tamar Mayor Yoav Givati, who came to the Kibbutz when it was just four years old in 1960. He and other leading kibbutz members told the delegates how the tourism slump and general economic recession in Israel has put the future growth of the kibbutz in question. They explained how the partnership with American communities could help them improve their prospects. Rising to the challenge, Middlesex Jewish Federation Coordinator Mike Shapiro commented, "we need to advertise package tours to Ein Gedi, to bring not just UJA missions to the region, but also the average tourist."

In Arad, the Partnership 2000 delegation was introduced to some of the challenges facing the growing town. Delegates visited a high school where they learned how Arad was dealing with a growing drug abuse problem among their youth. Dan Asher of Al-Sam, an anti-drug organization, explained some of the strategies. He told the delegates that the major challenge is getting the addicts to ask for help, with little funding made available for outreach. He told the group about a gang of 21 Russian youths who accepted the help of Al-Sam after making a video about drug abuse using equipment funded by Partnership 2000.

Delegates also visited the Avishur Community School - which doubles as a community center after school hours - where they heard about a plan to replace outdated computer lab. School Principal Dalia Spector explained that the lab will help them "provide an educational environment rich in scientific and technological aids." The computer lab has the potential to serve the entire local community, not just the 360 pupils at the school.

The Partnership 2000 delegates also met with members of the Ethiopian and Russian immigrant communities in Arad and learned about some of the problems they are facing. In the bomb shelter which currently serves as a community center for the Ethiopian Olim, they met Benny Adonani, one of the first eight Ethiopians to come to Israel via the Sudan over thirty years ago. Following some "home hospitality", delegates met with Arad community leaders to discuss new ideas for Partnership 2000. "Partnership 2000 is connecting people to people," commented Jeff Lipkin, Campaign Coordinator, UJA-CJF Central Region.

Bernie Cohen, Executive Vice President of the Atlantic City and Cape May Counties Jewish Federation, added, "personal contact is the key, the more exchanges we have, the more understanding there is. It's not just about the American community giving but about sharing and working together."

Toni Young, a leader of the Jewish Federation of Delaware, was in clear agreement. She says that through the partnership, people in America, "are getting a better understanding about what life in Israel is really about, the reality and the issues. It is hard to get the younger generation interested (in Jewish continuity). This is a Partnership because the American community needs it as much as the Israeli community."