Twenty-three pre-school educators and principals from Beit Shemesh and Yehuda Plains visited the Jewish community in Washington as part of the Gesher LeKesher program of Partnership 2000 and the Pre-School Division of the Department for Zionist Education of the Jewish Agency.

This program connects pre-school educators from the two communities and allows them to share their professional knowledge and experience in the area of Jewish pre-school education while strengthening the bond between the communities of the Partnership. The visit completed the program's first year of activity during which the educators participated in a seminar on topics related to North American Jewry, Jewish education in Israel and the Diaspora, and the educational challenges facing each community. At the same time, a similar seminar was held for educators in Washington. Last March, a delegation from Washington was hosted in the Beit Shemesh-Yehuda Plains Region.

  
During a week-long exchange visit which took place in Washington, the Israeli participants got to know the Jewish community, the education system and the main institutions of community life. The participants took part in seminars, tours and fascinating panel discussions in which they were joined by prominent figures in the community and representatives of the various denominations in Judaism. The meeting with their colleagues from Washington was an emotional and uplifting experience. The warm welcome left a very positive impression.

  
"For me this was an amazing visit. We discovered a new world in which the institutions of the Jewish community pay a central role in everyday life. In most of the kindergartens, there is a strong bond created with Israel through the use of symbols, flags and pictures, even if the kindergarten teachers don't have any direct link to Israel. In any case, I view the ties between us as being of the highest importance. Since the visit to Israel, close personal and professional bonds have been created between the kindergarten teachers of the Partnership which have given birth to new ideas and programs. We send the ideas back and forth between us and consult with one another" - Martsi Zarka, kindergarten teacher at the Science Kindergarten in Beit Shemesh.

The visit provided an opportunity both for continuing the links and to strengthen the personal ties between the participants. According to Yonit Jung, kindergarten teacher at Kibbutz Tsuba: "I have been able to meet special women, from backgrounds very different from mine, who have become real friends. These are women, both from the Region and from Washington, whom I would have never gotten to know, otherwise. It is a bit absurd that I have to travel to the other side of the globe in order to meet kindergarten teachers who live 20 minutes away from me. It is important to me to maintain and develop this group and to find a way to work together in order to strengthen the ties between us. There is a great deal of sense in building joint programs that we will implement together. This group has a great deal of talent and, together, I have no doubt that we will be able to do wonderful things."

  
The second half of the program will be devoted to reinforcing ties between the kindergartens by implementing joint programs led by pairs of kindergarten teachers. It is to be called "My Jewish kindergarten, here and overseas".

Following the success of the program, it was decided this year to inaugurate an additional program that will bring together pre-school educators in the Region with their colleagues in the Jewish community in South Africa. One of the 21 new participants this year was a male pre-school educator. The participants are currently taking part in a preparatory seminar in which they learn about Judaism, Zionism, the background of the Jewish community in South Africa and the unique characteristics of the pre-school education system in the community. The delegation from South Africa will be visiting in the near future.