The winter session of the Karmiel, Misgav and Pittsburgh “Partnership 2000” Joint Steering Committee was convened in Pittsburgh, this past November 3-8.

The 12-member Karmiel-Misgav delegation was composed of members of the Israeli Steering Committee, public representatives from the various sub-committees and leading project coordinators.
During its current visit, the delegation focused on publicizing and advertising the partnership’s various activities before a variety of audiences in small group sessions, various congregations and at meetings with parallel professional colleagues. For example, interesting meetings were held with Bill Strickland, who heads an organization that is partner to the establishment and maintenance of a cycling trail between Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. (approximately 350 miles), the JCC staff and educators from Pittsburgh’s Agency for Jewish Learning.

The delegation met a community that is warm and highly committed to its relationship with the Karmiel-Misgav region. However, the delegation also received an intimate view of the many challenges facing their partner community. The current economic situation has certainly left its mark and has proven quite difficult to maintain the participation of Pittsburgh’s 40,000 Jews in its Jewish Day Schools, congregations and community centers. The young people continue to leave the city and assimilation continues to grow on a constant basis.
In spite of the difficulties and because of the strong bond with the region, it is expected that three large-scale missions will visit the region throughout 2010: the Community Mission in April, the CIT Mission (50 young people) and the "Diller" Youth Leadership Mission (20 young people) in July.