July 28th - Partnership

Date: July 28th, 2015

By: Zack Fox

Celebrating a birthday with friends is always a fun experience. Celebrating in Israel with 38 amazing teenage leaders while taking part in great programing can’t be topped! We started the day by going to Kibbutz Ketura in Eilot and learning about their solar panels. It really surprised me to learn that, despite the fact the Israel is a very high-tech country, the first solar field was only installed in 2011. At Ketura, we discussed various reasons why Federation in Toronto would help with such a project and one answer that stuck out to me was that this is something that could help the world, not just this one kibbutz. After Ketura we drove back to Eilat, to the fire station where we had a tour and a conversation with a firefighter. Some of us even put on the whole firefighting outfit! Here, we got to see the truck with a big UJA logo on the side, as well as I learned that Federation also helps with emotional assistance for some firefighters. This shows that the partnership is not just through money, and that there is a real emotional connection between the cities. After this, we went to Yoseftal hospital where we heard from the CEO of the hospital, who also happens to be the father of one of the Eilat Diller Fellows. We saw the state of the art ER, and discussed their connection not only to Federation, but also with Mt. Sinai hospital back home in Toronto. From there, the group went to have some fun at a local swimming pool. To end the day, we had a closing dinner with all the parents and fellows. It was a truly amazing community week, and I am happy we could all experience it together (even the parents...the kids don’t write this for nothing) and Kol Hakovd to everyone that helped make it that way, Zack

Kibbutz Kotura