“Americans should come and see Israel how it really is,” says Israeli Shirley Poran.  She hopes to encourage Americans to visit Israel during her three weeks in Dayton as a part of the Partnership With Israel program, formerly known as Partnership 2000.

Along with Poran, Adva Weismen and Yohai Edery are serving as camp counselors with the DJCC’s Camp Shalom through August.

Partnership With Israel promotes people-to-people relationships between the Dayton Jewish community and Israel’s Western Galilee through cultural, social, educational and economic programs.

Dayton, along with 12 other cities in the central United States, is linked with the Western Galilee, located in the most northern part of Israel on the Mediterranean coast.

Edery, 22, Poran, 18, and Weismen, 15 all come from Akko, a metropolitan area in northwest Israel.  They have come to Dayton as part of Reverse Kefiada, a project of Partnership that pairs Israeli teenagers with JCC camps in Ohio. The counselors are being hosted by families in the Dayton area.

This is the sixth year Dayton has participated in the Reverse Kefiada program.
Edery, the chaperone for the Israeli teenagers, has traveled to the United States on several other occasions.

He enjoys his travels to the states, remarking that “there are a lot of green areas that we see less in Israel as we’re becoming more urban and industrial.

The group went through a rigorous application process to enter the program, and once accepted, trained extensively before arriving in Ohio.

Many of the teenagers who participate have often helped with younger children on the kibbutzim where they live, thus preparing them for their work with the campers in Dayton.

Although Israel’s culture is becoming more and more like ours, the counselors say there are still distinctions.

“There’s a very big difference in being a Jew in Israel and a Jew in the United States,” Edery said. “In Israel, all the environment is a Jewish environment. If we aren’t going to synagogue, we still have the Shabbat spirit.  In the United States, if you’re not part of a synagogue or another Jewish group, there’s no way to practice Judaism.”

Edery feels that Americans often have an unrealistic view of Israel. “It looks much more frightening than it really is.  We’re living in a situation that is not easy for us, we’re living in a time where we always need to be cautious, but I think Israel is one of the safest places because it’s so secured.”

Edery recently completed his service in the Israeli army and feels strongly about how the world is interpreting current events in Israel.

“We are a Western country, we are moral persons, especially as Jews…therefore there are a lot of problems with understanding some of the actions that we do…we are trying more than ever to keep the difference between innocent people and people who are really trying to harm us – that’s the most important thing.”

Irv Moscowitz, Dayton Partnership With Israel chair, says it is critical to bring these young Israelis here to meet with Jewish campers.

“It is absolutely the best way for us to get our kids connected to Judaism and Israel,” he says. “It is so refreshing, so interesting, you want to visit Israel as soon as possible.”