Putting a face and a name to Israeli and SA youth

JORDAN MOSHE

So says Merav Shany, a member of the Jewish Agency’s Partnership2Gether Peoplehood Platform (P2G) steering committee, which was in South Africa recently. P2G connects about 450 global Jewish communities with Israeli communities in 46 international partnerships. There are more than 350 000 participants involved in this initiative each year. The organisation ensures ongoing connections between the Jews of Israel and Jews around the world through unique programmes.

Shany and the committee met with members of the local branch of the Jewish Agency and representatives of various Jewish organisations to review projects and their budget.

“We want to give people a different understanding of Israel and inspire them to strengthen their bond with the people who live in Israel,” said Shany.

“At the same time, we want the people who live in Israel to understand what it means to be a minority overseas, and what it is really like to be a Jew or a supporter of Israel from outside.

P2G is involved in a number of projects offered to South Africans that foster leadership skills. Through coexistence programmes, leadership seminars and journeys to Poland, the organisation seeks to bring together Jews of all walks of life in a meaningful educational experience.

And, through partnering with youth movements and Jewish schools, P2G facilitates opportunities such as Israel Encounter, the Diller Teen Fellowship and the Shnat leadership programme.

It also offers a programme that enables Israeli schools to partner with local Jewish schools, helping teachers to become agents of change.

The organisation’s involvement is not limited to the Jewish community. Torah Academy and P2G arranged Cycalive, a cycling tour from Johannesburg to Durban. The tour includes cyclists from P2G (from the Beit Shemesh and Mateh Yehuda region), Torah Academy and two Soweto-based schools: Moletsane High and Pace Commercial Secondary School.

P2G also plans to bring a youth group from Arab villages in Israel to South Africa in a unique opportunity which it believes will show another side to Israel.