This past August a delegation of young people from the Karmiel-Misgav partner communities visited their counterparts in Pittsburgh.

The 18-member delegation visited the United States after more than six months of preparation in Israel. In addition, the group participated together with 40 young Jewish Pittsburghers in a leadership summer camp held in Misgav this past summer.

Prior to the delegation's arrival, their Pittsburgh hosts prepared an interesting and busy schedule. This included a series of meetings with key community leaders and visits to a variety of city Jewish and non-Jewish institutions. Furthermore, the group held a number of workshops where they discussed issues relating to Jewish Identity and Israel-Diaspora relations. These discussions led to an interesting exchange between the members of the delegation and group moderators. Over one Shabbat the group attended services at Beth Shalom, while the following weekend they visited a variety of congregations throughout the city with their host families giving them the unique opportunity to compare Shabbat in Pittsburgh with that that they experience in Israel. The hours they spent at the homes of their Pittsburgh hosts gave the young people an interesting glimpse into the American way of life.

In addition to the various meetings and seminars, the young people had lots of fun. They toured the city and its rivers in vintage World War II amphibious vehicles, saw a Pirates game, went hiking in nature at the Ohiopyle State Park, rode the amusement rides at Kennywood Park, shopped and enjoyed some of Pittsburgh's excellent restaurants, etc.

Together with their Pittsburgh hosts, the delegation traveled to Washington D.C. where they received special briefings from representatives of both the US State Department and the Israeli Embassy as well as toured many of the city's historical monuments, buildings and institutions.

During their Washington visit, the delegation engaged in volunteer activities at a hostel for the homeless and even had the opportunity to speak with one of the residents about his life and the circumstances that forced him to reside at the center.

 
Upon concluding the Pittsburgh leg of their visit, the group moved on to New York City where they toured the "Big Apple" from top to bottom and even had the chance to be part of the audience of CBS's morning broadcast, "The Early Show".

As the say goes, "all good things must come to an end" and the Karmiel-Misgav Youth Leadership delegation returned home tired but satisfied with their visit, although a bit sad that they were forced to say goodbye to their new found Pittsburgh friends. However in the age of the Web, MSN Messenger, Skype and email the members of the delegation continue and will continue to keep in touch with their Pittsburgh hosts until they return for an additional visit to Israel.