This year is the second year, in which a delegation of 2 teenagers accompanied by a chaperone arrived to the Federation to guide at Camp Ideal.

We arrived this year, Nofar Carmeli, 16, & Lior Markovich, 17, accompanied by Eliran Asraf, 22, to be counselors for the kids at the Camp for 4 weeks. The delegation arrived here as part of the Partnership 2000 program, which works together with 14 communities, between the Mid West and the Western Galilee.

The Partnership's goal is to create a personal connection between people here in the United States, and in the Western Galilee area in Israel.

There are many fields that can bond everyone in the Jewish community to the Partnership - Education, Culture, Art, connection with doctors in the Hospital in Nahariya and more... A partnership that can connect each and every one of you to the people living in this area of Israel, who have similar interests to yours!

In fact, one of the programs is actually teenagers arriving to summer camps in the communities to be counselors.

During the past 4 weeks we have been with the kids every day, teaching them Hebrew songs, letters, and opened each day with the Hebrew Word of the Day. We built a model of the Western Wall with the kids and they placed their wishes in it.  We made Falafel, and had an Israeli Army day with the kids, in which we had them go through an obstacle track, face coloring for camouflage, and making army T-shirts. We felt very proud as the kids kept wearing those shirts to camp after making them with us.

For me, staying 4 weeks in South Bend, has been very significant since I have visited and guided before in San Antonio, TX, Toledo, Youngstown & Akron, OH, for one week in each community. And this time I was here for the entire time the camp was working, which allowed me and the counselors to get attached to the community and the kids, and get to know them better, and at the same time, allowing them to get to know us better as well.

Nofar & Lior were warmly welcomed at the camp from day one by the Federation staff and the other counselors, and were an integral part of the rest of the camp, from start to finish.

I am sure that the kids who were part of the camp this year had experienced something special, as they had the Israeli counselors with them throughout the camp, who they always asked about Israel and showed interest in, and therefore learned more about it. That is something that is very important for us to convey to the Jewish people living in the United States, who live so far away from Israel, and yet they strengthen our country, even at these tough times the country is going through, with difficult battle in the northern part, the same area in which the partnership with the South Bend community operates.

We all had a great experience, both professional and personal, and we would like to thank all of the kids and staff at the camp, and the entire Jewish community who was with us all the way...

Eliran Asraf,
Chaperone for Reverse Kefiada Delegation 2006, South Bend, IN