Following a year of virtual meetings, the 8th grade students from Tucson Hebrew Academy in Tucson traveled to Israel and met the 8th graders from "Shikma" High School in Hof-Ashkelon Regional Council.

Three years ago we started tradition of meetings via Skype prior to the trip to Israel. We put a lot of thought & planning into the program and in preparing the virtual as well as the actual meetings.  Hani Levi, the teacher who is leading the  program in "Shikma", selectively chose the 12 participating students – each boy and girl bring their own unique personality and interests to the group.

Throughout the year the 2 groups  had conducted 4 joint Skype sessions, during which they got to know each other, asked questions, found common interests & hobbies, practiced  their English / Hebrew, laughed, sang songs and mainly were very excited about actually getting together in Israel.

And then the moment has arrived – they finally met this past May! It was a very… very… hot day. That did not stand in their way of having fun and bonding. The students were just like long lost friends, thanks to the virtual meetings they had throughout the year.  The visit began at "Shikma" High School with graphic t-shirts  Shikma students prepared especially for this occasion. From there the whole group drove to the "Partnership Point" (138.5 hill) for ODT activities & a fun dinner. The Mayor of Hof-Ashkelon, Yair Farjun, came to greet the group and welcome them to the area. After dinner the visiting group split-up and enjoyed a sleep-over in the homes of the hosts. >

The next day the whole group went on a hike in Bet Guvrin caves. Then it was time to say goodbye… it was not easy…

 Jon Ben-Asher, Head of School for THA said, "The day was filled with learning, laughing, food and real sadness as we said L’hitraot. Seeing the students meet in person for the first time was a powerful experience! They greeted each other like family and relished every moment together. Tears flowed freely through their laughter as our Israeli friends pretended to sneak onto the bus when we parted ways the next day. It was clear that memories and friends for life have been made through our Partnership2Gether programming"

The student Ben Segev from "Shikma" summed-up the visit: "throughout the year we have learned that we have some differences but also many similarities. It was great fun to meet someone our age that lives so far away and have this experience together".

New bonds have been made, friendships have been established, that is the way it is in a family, Partnership2gether Family.