Judi Howg has spent 10 years teaching in Jewish day schools, and while she understood the importance of Israel to Jews, it was really as an outside observer.  “My heart is bigger now,” she says, “I feel closer to the Jewish staff and can relate to their love of Israel. I understand our Israeli students better – they have a special passion for life, a strong independent spirit and, at the same time, a more relaxed attitude towards schedules.”

All of this comes from a week-long visit to Richmond Jewish Day School sister school Yitzhak HaNasi in Kiryat Shemona, as part of Partnership 2000.  Within the Partnership 2000 framework, Vancouver and five other Canadian communities support programs in the Etzba Hagalil region of northern Israel, with the goal of strengthening Diaspora ties with Israel.  The Partnership 2000 program focuses on strengthening the educational resources of the Etzba Hagalil region, and building community-to-community relationships through educational and cultural exchange programs.

Judi, who is not Jewish, adds, ”Personally, this was the trip of a lifetime. To see the deserts, the trees that have been planted and, most of all, to connect with the kids and be able to bring back some sense of what I experienced there. I hope the program continues to grow and more teachers who haven’t been to Israel can go, because it changes everything. I can’t read the paper without looking for that connection now. It becomes a personal responsibility. We look forward to maintaining and hopefully increasing our activities, encouraging more email and computer communication during the year, and continuing to build that bridge.”

Judi is one of four teachers from Vancouver who made the trip during the winter break and they all came back brimming with enthusiasm for the program, which is built on economic support, cultural and educational exchanges and face-to-face encounters between students and teachers. 

The days were long, with the teachers spending most mornings at their host schools, visiting classes, talking about Canada and how much the Canadian students think, learn and care about Israel. They talked about the connections and the similarities, while also touching on the differences that made the exchange lively and interesting. Students there were surprised that our day school students wear uniforms, kipot and call their teachers “morah” (Hebrew for teacher).  At the same time, they liked that the uniforms are blue and white, the colours of the Israeli flag, and that the schools start their day by singing Hatikvah (the Israeli national anthem) along with O Canada. Afternoons were spent on tiyulim (journeys), touring archeological sites, Jewish National Fund (JNF) forests and other places of interest.  And of course, there was a lot of eating.

Carla Gurvitz from RJDS was impressed by the camaraderie of the staff at Yitzhak HaNasi.  “It’s like a great, huge smoking family. Every night, there was a dinner, a party. Then our day would start again at 7 A.M. I thought I’d come back exhausted but, in fact, it fueled me. Israel is my passion. I am so excited.

Without Federation’s support, I wouldn’t have these opportunities. They have helped me all through my young adult life and make these kinds of trips possible.”

Carla, originally from Calgary, was studying at York University when Joshua Bensimon invited her to join York's Jewish Education program. Joshua directs the Western Canadian Coalition of Jewish Educators Initiative to provide professional teachers to Western Canadian Jewish schools.

Carla accepted the scholarship and, in exchange, committed to teaching in a Jewish school in Western Canada for at least two years after graduation. She completed her fourth year at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, an experience that changed her life. She is passionate about Israel and felt no hesitation in taking on the responsibility of Gesher Chai (the Living Bridge) at RJDS, even though she just started teaching there in September 2004. Gesher Chai provides opportunities for teachers to visit their sister schools and for the students to communicate through video conferences and pen pal programs.

Ruthi Pinto-Akselrod and Lily Bouskila represented Vancouver Talmud Torah on this trip. Myra Michaelson, Judaics coordinator at VTT, said, “We were extremely pleased with the amicable relationship that developed between members of our Judaic staff and their partner teachers at Alei Giv’a School. It is important that teachers who feel a strong dedication to this program and who are willing to go the extra mile be given the opportunity to visit each other. Both Ruthi and Lily were models of the commitment to make the Living Bridge come alive between students and educators in Northern Israel and here at Vancouver Talmud Torah.”

The relationship with Alei Giv’a School is already four years old, Lily elaborates. "The bond that was created keeps cementing itself every visit, every phone call or video conference, or every package sent in either direction. We were blessed to be twinned with a school full of wonderful and caring people with whom the chemistry has been immediate.”

”For me,” adds Ruthi, “it was like coming back home as I was fortunate to be on my second trip to this school and I remembered every teacher and every classroom. We were very excited and could not wait to unload the goodies we brought from Canada for the staff and students. We went into one of the classes where the kids were impatiently waiting for us. We taught them about Canada and showed the huge collage of Canada that our Talmud Torah students had prepared for them. The Israeli kids were asking questions and wondering about Canada's weather, the distances between cities, and Jewish life.”
 
Last year Alei Giv’a School had to absorb many students from the region since a local school was shut down; this resulted in very big classes and the challenge of integrating kids of different backgrounds in the already established school. Both teachers know that with the right attitude one can accomplish anything and this is how the staff approached the new challenge. "We saw the amazing results," they say. "Everyone feels safe and at home, and new and old students are treated equally!”
 
Other highlights included visiting the Educational Resource Centre in Kiryat Shemona where teachers search for materials and where many seminars take place, and taking part in a UIAC film shoot when the crew came to interview them and film them in action in one of the classrooms.

Ruthi and Lily really appreciated the opportunity to interact with their Israeli counterparts. Both teachers realize that Israel and the Gola (Diaspora) need this relationship. "In our case," they say, "it can strengthen the Zionist education we stress in our school.”