Partnership with Israel

Partnership with Israel


The P2GMissions Manual

The manual is a tool to use for:

  1. Preparing your community delegations and individuals for their upcoming visit to the Partnership region in the Western Galilee.
  2. Preparing yourself and staff/volunteers for hosting Partnership delegations in your community.
  3. The manual has been created by Partnership staff and Federation staff, based on their experience and recommendations.

Table of Contents

Preparing your delegations and individuals for an upcoming visit to the Partnership region in the Western Galilee

Visiting the Western Galilee -Making the Most of Your Next Visit2 – 3

Visitor Request Form4

VisitorInformation Chart4

Prepare Your Individualsand Groups5-6

Preparing yourselfand staff/volunteers for hostingIsrael Partnership delegations in your community

Hosting a Western Galilee delegationin my Community7-8

Preparing host families 9-11

Preparing staff for hosting the Kefiada11-12

Brief descriptions of Jewish organizations13

Evaluation Forms and Survey Forms14-23

Visiting the Western Galilee

Making the Most of Your Visit

Recommendations for your communities, take advantage of the resource guide at:

The Partnership2Getherstaff has experience hosting delegations.Please consider the following recommendations when planning your next trip:

Preparing for the visit

  • Before the trip brief your delegation members about the Jewish Federation, JFNA and its connection to JAFI and the Partnership2Gether(see detailson page 16).

Emphasize the uniqueness of:

  1. Enjoying the beauty of the Western Galilee
  2. Having people-to-people (personal) connections with residents of the Western Galilee
  3. Seeing Federation dollars at work in the Partnership with Israel programs
  • Provide information to the Partnership with Israel staff about your delegation;
  1. LOGISTICS: Dates of visit, number of participants, agenda for the visit, special requests for itinerary, and any special needs to consider (allergies, wheelchairs, etc).
    On page 4you will find the Request form which you will have to fill in and send to the Israeli staff.
  2. PARTICIPANTBIOs:a brief description of each participant is requested to assist the Israeli staff in matching up home hospitality and special visits based on the participant’s background & interests.
    On page 4you will find the Guestchart which you will have to fill in and send to the Israeli staff.
  • Home hospitality has become a highlight of visiting the region. The visitors will experience a real Israeli home — nothing can compare in gaining long-lasting connections.
  • Take into accountadditional budget for inviting Israelis to join you for meals during your visit. Having Israelis join your group creates the opportunity for informal discussions, a deeper understanding of Partnership2Gether, and grows friendships.
  • Don’t overload the day with too many programs — let the participants have at least an hour break before the evening program.

While visiting the western galilee:

Your participants will get a briefing about Partnership2Getherand about each program you will be visiting.

It is important for the leaders of the group to remain involved throughout the visit and contribute their personal experiences and stories (especially if they have visited the region before and participated in Partnership programs).

It is recommended to include an evaluation and closing meeting at the end of the trip to share experiences and thoughts about the visit.

Back home:

Follow-up is important!

  • Have a "Get together and share" meeting when back in your community.
  • Encourage people to get involved in Federation and Partnership activities! The Partnership2Getherstaff will be thrilled to connect them to ongoing and new programs.
  • Encourage your participants to stay in touch with the Israelis they met by sending a thank you letter, greeting cards for holidays, sending photos from the visit, communicating via Facebook/Twitter/Skype, etc.
  • Encourage your participants to share their experience on our digital album at______
  • Give the Israeli staff feedback. Let us know the successes of your trip and the areas that require
    improvement.
  • Please send ideas and comments for upgrading the missions.

Questions? Please contact:

Beth Zuriel

Director, Central Area Consortium Partnership2Gether

Email:

Office: ++972-2-5353771

Cell ++972-52-2677838

Heidi Benish

Missions and Marketing Coordinator

Email:

Office: ++972-4-9512976

Fax: ++972-4-9712975

VISIT REQUEST FORM

Fill inthe visit request form and send it to the Israeli staff.
This is essential forsetting up effectiveitineraries.

Name of Community and Group:
Date/s of visit:
Arrival Time: Departure Time:
Purpose of visit to the Partnership and expectations:
Total number of people : _____
Participant list including names, approximate age, profession,specialinterests,special needs
(kosher, vegetarian, allergies, etc.)
Name of Travel agency:
Contact details:
Name of hotel for overnight:
Budget for additional Partnership Guests for meals: $ ______
Additional comments:

VISITOR chart

This chart will assist us in helping to set up successful matches for home hospitality,etc.:

Last Name / First Name / Age / Profession / Kashrut / Food Allergies / Special Arrangements? / Comments

PREPARE YOUR INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS BEFORE THEIR VISIT TO THE WESTERN GALILEE:

"How should I prepare our U.S. teen delegationsor adult individual (Artist-in-Residency,doctor,Kefiada student, etc.) prior to their visit in the Western Galilee?"

Youth DELEGATION- preparation plan:

1. Introduction meeting, explanation of what a delegation is and explanation of the Partnership:

  • Introduce group members/group bonding
  • Goals of the trip
  • Duties and rules
  • Family hosting (prepare small gift)
  • Setting upexpectations during the trip and after their return. (see section below - ‘Back Home’)
  1. Intercultural differences: differences and similarities between American and Israeli culture.
    Have a discussion aboutcourtesy and proper behavior.
  2. Prepare materials for group activity
  3. The Jewish world: Israel and the Diaspora
  4. Meeting with the Executive Director of the Federation/Partnership chair/staff for explanation about the Federation, JFNA, JAFI, the connection and importance of the Partnership. (see page 13)
  5. Session topic to be determined in accordance with the needs of the group (bonding activity with an outside company, work on public speaking, "venting," questions, etc.)
  6. Parent meeting
  7. Farewell meeting: Final instructions and logistics.

Schedules and technical details should be finalized via conference calls with the Israeli coordinator, to prevent problems
upon arrival.

Please note: this is a basic outline; changes may be introduced as needed for a given delegation.
For example, a delegation that worked for an entire year with a twin class should devote at least one session to preparing materials for the peers with whom they worked.

Youth DELEGATION, BACK HOME:

Have an evaluation session and follow up meeting discussing "Duties afterwards" like future hosting, stay in contact with the Israelis, reach out to recruit new people for future Partnership programs, make a presentation to the Board or Overseas committee,participate in Federation events, etc.

Adult DelEgation OR INDIVIDUAL - preparation plan:

  1. Introduction meeting, explanation of what a delegation is and explanation of the partnership:
  • Introduce group members/group bonding
  • Goals of the trip
  • Duties and rules
  • Family hosting (prepare small gift)
  • Setting up expectations during the trip and after their return.
  1. Meeting with the Executive Director of the Federation/Partnership chair/staff for explanation about the Federation, JFNA, JAFI, the connection and importance of the Partnership. (see page 13)
  2. Professional session: what needs to be prepared, what should be taken along on the trip, host expectations
  3. Presentation of materials and personal presentations
  4. The Jewish world: Israel and the Diaspora
  5. Conclusion, security briefing, distribution of tickets, logistics

Schedules and technical details should be finalized via conference calls with the Israeli coordinator, to prevent problemsupon arrival.

Please note: this is a basic outline; changes may be introduced as needed for a given delegation.

BACK HOME:

Have an evaluation session and follow up meeting discussing "Duties afterwards" like future hosting, stay in contact with the Israelis, reach out to recruit new people for future Partnership programs, make a presentation to the Board or Overseas committee, participate in Federation events, etc.

Hosting a Western Galileedelegationin my community

Check list for the FEDERATION staff when setting up an ISRAELI partnership delegation visitTO the U.S.

CHOOSE YOUR PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND SET UP EXPECTATIONS:

  1. Check the "Calendar of opportunities" at the Partnership website: and choose an ‘Opportunity’ (delegation visit/performance/program)
  2. Notify the Israeli staff of your choice.
  3. The Israeli staff will contact you for a one-on-one/group phone conversation to define goals and expectations.
  4. Israeli staff initiates a conference call with all communities that are taking a specific‘opportunity’; brainstorming what to do with the delegation, avoid duplicating activities (don’t all take them ice-skating…)

CONSIDER the following:

  1. Set up the itinerary.
  2. Technicalities and logistics –transportation, where and when to eat, include free time, etc.
  3. Figure out how to expose the visiting Israelis to the broader community
  4. Identify and prepare host families - Either bring them together for a meeting and explain about Partnership, the delegation and their goals, go over the itinerary, etc.
    OR send them a letter that details it all. See samples on page 9-11.
    If you have a meeting you can show them the 9 minute Partnership DVD and the Partnership Powerpoint, both on the P2K Marketing flashdrive.
  5. Find a local 'point person' whose responsibility it is to be in contact with the Israeli chaperone during the visittoyour community. The Israeli chaperone will know who to turn regarding problems, thus ensuring that everythingruns as smoothly as possible both for the hosting community and the Israeli delegation.
  6. Be creative in exposing the guests to as many people in the community as possible, for example – meeting with your youth groups, Women’s group, Overseas committee, Business network, etc.
  7. Set up a meeting with the Federation staff and board members. This helps the Israelis better understand the Jewish community and exposes the local leaders to the Partnership.
  8. Set up meetings with relevant people for exploring future joint activities.
  9. Set up a visit to the synagogues – it’s a new world to many Israelis and here they can also represent the Partnership to the congregations.
  10. Try to set up an evening with all of the guests and hosts for an evening activity, especially advisable for the last evening.
  11. Give the host families time to get to know their guest (don’t overload the itinerary).
  12. Don't forget to add some touring, sight seeing and free time in the itinerary. Please give shopping time in the schedule.
  13. Encourage lay people to join the Israelis for the touring, meetings and group activities.

MARKETING:

Set up your PR campaign: advertising, invitations,press releases, email blasts, Facebook, Twitter, posters around town, etc.

'FACE TO FACE' OR WRITTEN SURVEYS AND EVALUATIONS:

  1. Summary meeting - towards the end of the visit try to have a summary with the whole group or part of it (hosts and visitors) – discuss how the experience was, how can we improve, etc.
  2. DoEvaluations, both for the Federation/JCC staff and for the visiting Israelis. (Samples on page 14-23)
    Afterwards an evaluation conference call will be initiated by the Israeli staff.
  3. If you are hosting a performance – Consider preparing a survey for the audience to fill out (put on each chair with a pen.) The survey should include asking for contact information like email and phone. As an incentive to fill it out, you can do a raffle for an Israeli prize. (Sample on page19)

Preparing Hosting Families,Introduction letter

Preparing host families is extremely important. to host is not TO just give your key to a stranger who will be living in your house for a few days. We suggest that you to set up a meeting with the HOST families to go through expectations and the group itinerary.

below is a sample letter THAT YOU CAN USE.

Dear Host Family,

We want to express our sincere thanks for agreeing to be a host family for delegation member(s) from our Partnership with Israel region in the Western Galilee. Making person-to-person connections between our community members and the visitors from Israel is a key element of Partnership. Your willingness to open your home and share your life with our guests is instrumental in making the visit a success.

As you no doubt already know, our community is one of 15 communities in the Partnership Central Consortium Area, “partnering” with the Western Galilee region in northern Israel. The area includes the city of Akko and the rural communities of the Matte Asher Regional Council along the Mediterranean Sea. Partnership offers many opportunities for people on both sides of the ocean to work together in the fields ofmedicine, arts, education, co-existence, leadership development, culture, business development, economics and tourism. Partnership has been extraordinary for our community and we are delighted to have you involved at such a personal level.

In preparation for your visitor(s), the enclosed documents will provide you with an overview ofIsrael Partnership, an outline of the delegation visit including daily schedule and logistics details. Also provided is some background information about your visitor(s).

[if visit includes a community event]

The delegation will be featured at our community event on date, time, location, event details. We sincerely hope you and your family will attend.

A staff member will contact you prior to the delegation arrival to review the visit details.

You are encouraged to call – insert staff person name, office phone and cell phone – with any questions before or during the visit.

Thank you again for welcoming our visitors. We look forward to talking to you soon.

Sincerely,
(Staff member’s name)ATTACH TO THE LETTER: partnership flyers, map and brochure, if appropriate the additional orientation letter (page 10-11)the group itinerary, flyer of their performance.

Additional page forhost families

We are all the same, just with a few cultural differences. To help make the hosting experience as successful as possible, here are some points to keep in mind:

BEHAVIOR

The Israeli culture is built on very direct communication and people sayingwhat is on their mind in order to prevent misunderstanding. We may find it slightly impolite but please don't take this personally and just be aware that this is normal in Israeli culture. Israelis express themselves honestly and expect you to tell them what you think about their behavior. If there is an issue, please tell them directly, do not try to smooth things over and therefore not give true feedback.

Israelis, like Americans, need privacy, but everyone defines privacy differently. An American might tell you all about his family and private life, while an Israeli might find it difficult to tell you about his parents’ divorce. On the other hand your Israeli guest will have no problem telling you how much he paid for his new pair of “Nike” and will ask you how much you paid for yours. We may find it an intrusion into our privacy, but please remember that is not their intension.

Meals

In Israel the main meal of the day is lunch, in which they eat a hearty meal usually including meat or chicken. Your Israeli guest will not find it hard to have his main meal at dinner as long as he has a sense when meals are served. Please make sure to offer him breakfast, dinner and a later night snack and ask if he needs a sandwich and fruit for the day. Please encourage your guest not to be shy.

Kosher Food

Most Israelis eat Kosher ’style’, meaning not eating pork or shellfish and not mixing dairy and meat in the same meal. No special kitchen utensils are required. If your guest is keeping strictly Kosher, we will let you know.

Eating out:

In Israel “eating-out” is not such a common experience, especially by teenagers. Your guests might feel uncomfortable being invited to a restaurant and may want to pay for their own meals. For teens this could cut deeply into their limited financial resources. Therefore we suggest either limit dining out or please make it clear to your visitors that you are inviting them.

Showers:

Israelis usually take showers before going to bed at night; they might want to take a shower in the morning as well.

Telephone calls

Your guest will have a pre paid phone card. Please let them know that it is fine that they use your phone, when using the pre paid phone card.

RELIGIOUS MATTERS

Most Israelis are secular; in fact many of them go to synagogue only on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. However they will go to synagogue with you if it’s a custom in your house. This is an important, new, educating and refreshing experience for them.