Jewish Federation Hosts Coast-to-Coast Partnership Meetings
One of the goals of our Jewish Federation is to strengthen our partnership region in Israel, Etzbah HaGalil (the Galilee Panhandle) through strategic investment in programs that strengthen the area and provide new opportunities to improve the quality of life for those who live there. The efforts of our Jewish Federation are combined with five other Jewish communities across Canada (Atlantic Canada, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Calgary, and Edmonton). Known as the Partnership2Gether (P2G) Coast-to-Coast initiative, this is the framework on which relationships between the people of Etzbah HaGalil and communities of Coast-to-Coast Canada are built and strengthened. The relationships foster a love of Israel and a long-term commitment to Jewish peoplehood, promoting the growth and health of each community involved.
Partnership Grows in Vancouver
The P2G Coast-to-Coast’s partnership is governed by a Joint Steering Committee comprised of representatives from five Israeli and six Canadian partner cities. Our Jewish Federation recently had the privilege of hosting the committee’s biannual meetings from June 15–17, 2015. Representatives from our local community included Stephen Gaerber, national chair of the Coast-to-Coast partnership, Karen James, chair of the Israel and Overseas Committee and P2G, and Pam Wolfman, chair of our local Gesher Chai (living bridge) Committee. The meetings were an important opportunity for representatives from Israel and across Canada to review funded projects together and explore potential investments in Etzbah HaGalil’s ongoing progress in three key areas: youth and education, the Gesher Chai program (meaning living bridge, which includes people-to-people exchanges between the two countries), and capacity building (social programming and regional development).
Why the Galilee Panhandle?
Etzbah HaGalil is geographically, economically and politically isolated. Residents often miss out on the social, educational and employment opportunities available to those living in central Israel. Through P2G, Jewish Federation strategically invests funds to reverse the North's overall vulnerability by laying foundations for community resilience, emergency preparedness, and economic growth.
A Successful Investment
One of the many projects our Jewish Federation is investing in is a new initiative called Green Farms, which develops and supports organic farming in the very fertile agricultural region of Etzbah HaGalil. Through a partnership with the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm, two professors mentor and work closely with the Israeli farmers; they have been to Israel and will be going again. During the recent P2G meetings, committee members visited UBC Farm to see their environmentally responsible farming project. Committee members were pleasantly surprised to discover such a beneficial program in our own backyard. “I was impressed by the extent of the farm, the diversity of plants grown, and how they are mentoring some Israeli farmers,” shares Karen James. The goal of the program is to build a healthier, more sustainable food system in Northern Israel. Program like this, which strengthen the whole region, are a key focus of the partnership and of our Jewish Federation’s investment.