Since its creation in 1995 the "Partnership 2000" program of the Jewish Agency for Israel has worked at creating viable relationships and even friendships between the residents and community activists of the Karmiel-Misgav region and the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Community.

During the past year, the partnership's Steering Committee decided to encourage the recruitment and training of new volunteers interested in becoming P2K and Jewish Community activists.

Since last January, a group of young Israelis, ages 22-45 have operated under the auspices of the partnership with the objective of consolidating a strong and committed group of young community leaders that aim to establish a series of long-term and on-going relationships with their counterparts (YAD) from the Pittsburgh Jewish Community. The members of the Israeli group are residents of Karmiel and the communities of the Misgav Regional Council. They all share a common motive, the desire to contribute and become active participants in the community in which they live, with a strong bond to the values of Judaism and their Israeli identity as well as the ability to affect if only in small way the way of life of the region's residents.

Tzachi Levi, one of the organizers of the Israeli group and a former young "shalich" (emissary) to the Pittsburgh Jewish Community noted, "The 'Partnership 2000' framework emphasizes the strong bond between the State of Israel and the Jewish People. It provides a venue for the members of our group and the YAD group in Pittsburgh to express their desire to take an active role in the communities' various programs, events and projects as they relate to the region's economic, educational and communal development".

The Israeli group, after coming together following a small advertisement placed in local newspapers underwent training and orientation that included meetings with various professionals who spoke on matters concerning Judaism and American Jewry in particular and an intensive group seminar held at a nearby hostel in the ancient village of Pe'ekin.

In order to become better acquainted and establish long-term relationships with their Pittsburgh counterparts a 16-member delegation composed of members of the Israeli group left for a weeklong visit to Pittsburgh, on the begining of June. There the members of the community's YAD group and their families hosted the delegation. "Our stay with the families was significant and provided us with a real "up close and personal" look at life in the Pittsburgh community" as we were told by Galit Erner, a resident of Yuvalim, who like many in the group was making a first-time visit to Pittsburgh.

The schedule included tours and introductions to the community's JCC and other Jewish institutions as well as its community based programs for the members of the Jewish Community and the public. An exciting gathering was held with Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge David Wecht who amazed the group with his fluent Hebrew, his profound knowledge and love for Israel and the Jewish People. Other visits included those to City Hall, the city's Holocaust Museum and Hadassah headquarters. The delegation also spent a few hours volunteering at the Squirrel Hill Food Pantry intended for needy families and the Jewish Association on Aging.

Later in the week, the members of the group spent two intensive days at the community's Emma Kaufman Camp where they held a series of workshops and group dynamic activities.

Today the Israeli "YAD" group works both in parallel and directly with their Pittsburgh counterparts in order to promote joint projects in both Pittsburgh and the region.

The members of the group meet formally once a month and gather informally to strengthen the group and their interpersonal relations.

This group aims to enhance the involvement and integration of area residents in a variety of regional and national communal goals and tasks and invites interested residents of the Karmiel-Misgav region to join in this important and Zionist activity.