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January 4, 2002/20 Tevet 5762, Vol. 54, No. 16
Delegate receives gift
BARRY COHEN
Editor
While viewing firsthand the implementation of programs sponsored by the United Jewish Communities during a Partnership 2000 conference in Israel, Valley resident Joan Mollen received a special gift.
During the Dec. 2-9 trip, the group visited a senior center funded by the UJC. The residents, led by Kiryat Malachi Mayor Lior Katsav, presented Mollen and Eitan Ben Ami - shaliach (delegate) of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix Israel Center - with a wall hanging of a hand-embroidered menorah surrounded by pictures of the residents.
"For me it was a total surprise. I had no idea," said Mollen.
The 5' x 2' plaque was the residents' response to a High Holiday gift coordinated by Valley resident Hannah Adelman. This fall, she arranged for 150 cards to be sent from a number of local retirement homes to a senior center in Kiryat Malachi, federation's sister city in Partnership 2000.
Started in 1995, the Partnership 2000 program pairs Israeli and Diaspora communities. Phoenix is one of 14 cities paired with the Hof Ashkelon area, a collection of kibbutzim and moshavim, in addition to the town of Kiryat Malachi. From annual campaigns, UJC sets aside part of the overseas allocations to fund Partnership 2000, which implements programs to improve socioeconomic conditions in areas like Hof Ashkelon.
Mollen is chairwoman of both the local federation's Israel Center and the Partnership 2000 committee. While in Israel, she saw how federation dollars are being translated into Partnership 2000 programs.
"(The Israelis) have been learning through this partnership about doing volunteer projects," said Mollen.
One of these projects is a health fair for women that took place while Mollen was in Israel. Approximately 300 women of all ages had their eyes and blood pressure checked, she said.
Another Partnership 2000 project is a food bank set up at Yad Mordechai, a kibbutz near the border of Gaza, said Mollen. Every Thursday, food packages collected from surrounding grocery stores and kibbutzim are delivered for Shabbat "to families who no longer have jobs, who no longer have the ability to feed their families," explained Mollen.
For Ben Ami, who had not visited Israel for four months, the trip was a chance to see how Partnership 2000 programs improve the lives of Ethiopians and new immigrants, he said.
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