The Twinning Program of Partnership With Israel is a project of learning and understanding between the Moti Asher School in the Western Galilee in Israel and a number of schools in North America.

Hillel Academy, the Miami Valley’s Jewish day school, joins a long list of schools that take part in this program.

Recently, the principal of Moti Asher, Leah Haliva, and teacher Ze’ev Taub visited Hillel to meet the staff and students.

They spent a day getting to know the teachers and students that their children had communicated with over a period of months. It only sparked their interest to continue and enlarge the international exchange.

“We want to deepen and instill a special connection with Israel for each of us as professionals and with our students,” said Jewish Federation Chief Operating Officer Steve Reitman.

Partnership With Israel connects Jewish communities worldwide with regions in Israel to create people-to-people relationships between Israeli and Diaspora Jews.

Through e-mail, 14 students in Hillel’s sixth, seventh, and eighth grades were twinned this year with more than 30 students at the Israeli school. Because of the ratio, each Hillel student communicates with several Israeli students.

According to Elizabeth Carlson, who teaches literature, grammar and social studies for the students in these grades at Hillel, the twinning started in January.

“We sent them our pictures (online) and they sent theirs,” Carlson said. “The students could exchange ideas for holidays like Passover, and compare customs. Writing in English was good practice for them. We have Hebrew language on our computers and our kids used that.”

Carlson said the students checked their messages each week. “They wrote about getting dressed up for Purim, and going to Washington,” she said. “They did art and poetry.”

The main benefits, she felt, were getting to know the people there, seeing their faces and reading what the Israeli students wrote.

“They get to know what Israeli kids are really like and they know what we are like,” Carlson said. “The students found they like the same music, have the same foods for holidays.”

Carlson added that she and her Israeli counterpart are trying to find a book the students can all read and discuss.

“Ze’ev and Leah brought us gifts and she played and sang with our kids,” Carlson said. “The principal invited me to Israel. I would like to take the next eighth grade there.”

The school where Haliva is principal is a junior and senior high school in Akko. She said they have a great variety of subjects including physics, biology, music, drama, art, and electronics.

Ze’ev Taub teaches computer and he works with the twinning. He talked about the roots projects the students did.

“They traced their first names and what they meant,” he said. “Then they took it to their last names. The kids are really enjoying it.”