Yossi Ackerman is one of many business leaders who has become involved with P2K, in the process discovering a radically new perspective to the concept of philanthropy.
"You know, people tend to think about philanthropy purely in financial terms. This is a mistake. Yes, money is important; it provides the means, the fuel to drive an agenda. But P2K has introduced a totally refreshing dimension, articulated in its name - it's about partnerships and connecting people."
What's more, "it's about performance-driven ventures where you have a multitude of volunteers, of all ages, from Jewish communities all over the world, working on activities and projects that benefit everyone. It is win-win, open-ended and all under the umbrella of the Jewish Agency and Partnership 2000."
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Ackerman says that there is hardly a time that he is not connecting one way or another with his counterparts in Detroit.
"There is a constant flow of delegations and I am preparing to host three missions in the next two months. It takes up a lot of my time, but it brings me great pleasure. We need to pursue business ventures, conventions, student exchanges - you name it. You know, when I see young Americans studying Hebrew in Detroit and young Israelis in the Central Galilee studying English, all under the umbrella of Partnership 2000, I know we are on the right track."
As the head of a global company that employs some 10,000 people, what motivated Ackerman to "jump into the water," as he describes it?
"Well, every Israeli businessman, apart from what he is doing for his company, should also look beyond personal horizons. And here I am speaking about strengthening the relationship between the Jewish communities abroad and Israel. I am aware of what is at stake. I appreciate what the Jewish Agency is doing, and I feel they need more than just the financial support of the Israeli business community, but also our active and personal involvement."
Ackerman makes the case that successful Israeli businesspeople bring to the table "a wealth of experience, expertise, knowledge of the local scene and, because of their global interests, an understanding of the world outside of Israel."
A new landscape
The President of Elbit Systems has a very positive opinion of the Jewish Agency. Ackerman still lives on the same moshav where he first settled as a young boy with his parents in 1956 - Beit Lechem HaGlilit.
"We were very poor in those days, owning little more than half a cow and half a horse. How come, you may ask? Well, the Jewish Agency gave our family together with another one cow, one horse and a cart to share between us. They also gave us some money to buy seeds - literally 'seed money'," he laughs. "That is how we started out in agriculture, supported by the Jewish Agency. I recall that once a week a representative from the Sochnut (the Jewish Agency) used to visit our moshav and instruct the families on suitable farming techniques."
Some nearly six decades after his family's first "partnership" sharing livestock under the umbrella of the Jewish Agency, Ackerman sees his contribution to P2K as "having come full circle. It's time to give back, but I don't think I will give back a cow," he laughs.
Ackerman feels strongly about strengthening the Jewish People. "We are few in number and it is vital that we remain united and understand each other's issues and concerns. If I speak to the people in Detroit - whom we in the central Galilee are partnered with - they are worried that their kids will marry out of the faith. This is an issue we in Israel hardly have to dwell on. We take if for granted that our kids will marry Jews. Not so in America! In the end, their problem - assimilation - will be our problem, and so, we are all in it together. By combining our talents, energy and creativity, we can help each other. The sky is the limit."
Indeed, today Yossi Ackerman is giving back a lot more that cows, horses and grain seed, thanks to his involvement with P2K.
The evaporating Diaspora
Dov Lautman, the founder and until recently the Chairman of the Board and main shareholder of Delta Galil Industries, shares Ackerman's concerns. "We can no longer afford to take for granted the continuity of the Jewish People. We have to be pro-active and set the agenda. P2K for me is the vehicle to do so."
Lautman, who is dedicating himself to working for a better Israel - is the Executive Chairman of the Peres Center for Peace, a member of the Board of the Yitzhak Rabin Center, Honorary President of Dor Shalom (Peace Generation), Deputy Chairman of the Abraham Fund and on the Board of Governors of a number of Israeli universities. He is also a member of the Jewish Agency's Executive Committee and a past Co-Chair of the Partnership Sub-Committee of the Jewish Agency Board of Governors.
Lautman repeatedly uses the word "evaporate" to describe the spiraling demographic descent of the Jewish people. "Only in Israel are we enjoying growth. In the Diaspora the trends are disturbing. This is why I see P2K as the most important project today for the Jewish Agency."
He recalls that when he was a child more than sixty years ago, "they used to talk of the five million Jews in the USSR. Since then, some one million Russians came to live in Israel and another half a million emigrated elsewhere."
Throwing out the question of "How many Jews do you think are left in the Former Soviet Union?" Lautman quickly answers, "Half a million! So what happened to the other approximately three million Jews? Evaporation!" he exclaims. "In two generations, mainly under the Communist regime, we have lost them to assimilation."
No less disturbing is what is happening today under democracy. "We see in America today that close to 50 precent of Jews are marrying out of the faith. And among those who don't, a relatively small portion is raising their families within some form of a Jewish framework."
For this reason, Lautman advocates "constant contact between Diaspora Jewry and Israel, particularly among the youth. It is not just important, it's essential. The 'People to People' concept and framework of P2K will make the difference and it is why I continually stress it as the most important project today for the Jewish Agency. This is our responsibility and while I know that so much has been achieved, I believe so much more can be done."
How so? "We have very successfully partnered cities and regions in Israel with Jewish communities all over the world. But we don't have to stick to the geographic. We can partner lawyers, doctors, educators, researchers, artists and why not actors and movie stars?"
Golden opportunities
When Raya Strauss Bendror took up the position of Co-Chair of the Nahariya/Northern New Jersey Partnership three years ago, she too, like Ackerman, was less than enthusiastic. "I didn't want to do it. I was ready to host a delegation from New Jersey, but little more," says Bendror, President and until recently co-owner of the Strauss Investment Company and co-owner of the Strauss-Elite Group, a one billion dollar international food corporation.
Bendror had good reason to shy away from further involvement in social activism. As Chairperson of the Israel Friends of Ben Gurion University, a Member of the Executive of MAALA (which advocates corporate social responsibility), a member of the Board of Directors of the Beit Hashanti Foundation (helping homeless teens), a member of The Ghetto Fighters House Board, a long time supporter of the Reut Institute and Acharei, educating for leadership and excellence among marginalized teens, Bendror had her hands full. After all, she still had to leave time to oversee her family's global enterprise.
Three years later, Bendror currently holds the prestigious position of Co-Chair of the Partnership Subcommittee, having taken over the position when Dov Lautman stepped down. What happened?
"It was that first delegation from New Jersey. It was for me a reawakening. Prior to that, when traveling around the world, I never used to think to look where Jews lived or inquire how they lived. As a secular Jew, I focused on being Israeli, not Jewish. And then, here we have this delegation of wonderful people, lay leadership and professionals, coming and basically saying: "Hineni? - 'here we are'. For two days we sat together, including the mayor of Nahariya, and we asked: 'What do we want? What is our vision?' I quickly grasped I was sitting here with a golden asset that presented boundless opportunities for Nahariya, particularly in the field of education. Similarly it also presented opportunities to the Americans. And from day one, we began to work as a team."
What may have not been evident for Raya Strauss Bendror was beginning to hit home. "I suddenly became more aware of what had been staring me in the face. I noticed more keenly, when visiting a hospital, a university, a research or cultural center, the names of overseas Jews emblazoned on placards the length and breadth of Israel. Their contributions are imbedded in Israel's architectural landscape and I began to realize how they care, how they persevere to connect and the impact they have been making. What was lacking was the realization and appreciation on the Israeli side to this. It is this aspect that has now been evolving with P2K when Israelis and Jewish communities now work together, as partners on joint projects and activities. We get to know and care about one another." The style of philanthropy was in transition - the anonymity of the past was being replaced by familiarity.
Bendror cites the case of a prominent New Jersey community leader who "jumped on a plane on the first day of the Second Lebanese War last summer and headed directly to Nahariya with a check of $100,000 'just to help'. He stayed here for the duration of the War. He said 'Nahariya is also my home.' Through the 'People to People' model of P2K, Jews from communities all over the world are personally connecting with Israelis and this is making all the difference."
To reinforce this point, Bendror tells of the Solidarity Mission from Northern New Jersey that arrived in the aftermath of last summer's war. "There were 350 participants, of which a third had never been to Israel before. Another third had not visited in the last thirty years. They only spent four hours in Nahariya but for most of that time we divided the group, through P2K, among families in Nahariya. At the end of the mission, they all said that the highlight of their trip was the few hours they spent in Nahariya. Why? Because of the intimacy they enjoyed meeting local Israelis in their homes. This is what Partnership 2000 is all about."
Bendror says her dream is to reach out to the growing community of Israelis living abroad. "For the most part, they rarely attend synagogue or send their kids to Jewish day schools. There is a serious danger here. To stay Jewish, it is not enough to speak Hebrew at home," asserts Bendror. "P2K is the vehicle to reach out to them and I have already made major progress in Northern New Jersey, which has a sizable Israeli community."
When Raya Strauss Bendror travels overseas these days, Diaspora Jews are no longer the furthest thing on her mind. On the contrary, they are among the foremost on her mind. "Partnership 2000 has opened my heart," she proudly admits.
Reaching maturity
What has brought about this relatively recent commitment of high-profile Israelis to the activities of the Jewish Agency? Jeff Kaye, Director General of the Agency's Resource Development and Public Affairs Department, speaks of the State's "age of maturity"; a result of "the scope and strength of the economy." He says that today there is an ever increasing number of affluent Israelis who have the urge and the ability to contribute in a profound way. "However they don't want to go it alone. If the buzz words in global business today are 'joint ventures' and 'partnerships', so it is in the world of philanthropy."
Not so long ago, well-off Jews from the Diaspora used to write checks to various organizations in order to help support the new Jewish State thousands of miles away, without ever really knowing what or whom their contributions actually supported. Today, says Kaye, "It is no longer the case that the Diaspora gives and Israel receives. The nature and scope of the relationship has changed, and this change is a testimony to Israel's success as a nation coming of age.
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