TEENS visit Ashkelon !

We are having a busy summer as we welcome many teen visitors from Baltimore to Ashkelon. 

After we said goodbye to the  BEIT RJ  teens,  a group of over 30  BZD  teens arrived in Ashkelon. Days filled with fun, beach, social events and various volunteering activities. The teens were home hosted by Dafna Biton and the Ashkelon Youth Council. 

Soon the  DILLER  teens arrive, and the huge delegation of  MACCABI teens.

At the Ashkelon Teen center

Volunteering with Seniors

At the Lyn Stacie Getz Playground    

Michael Lapidus Baltimore Park

8th Grade Krieger Shechter Pupils visit Park Baltimore

Yesterday, fifty 8th grade Krieger Shechter pupils and their school principal, Dr Paul Schneider, arrived in Ashkelon to meet with their Gesher Hai (Living Bridge) partners at Rabin-Mekif Daled High School. This is the 7th year in a row that this meeting is taking place in Ashkelon.

The pupils visited the Lynn Stacie Getz memorial playground and the Michael Lapides Park - "Park Baltimore" - built over a year ago as a partnership community project, by 200 Baltimorians (on an Associated Family Mission to Israel) in partnership with 400 Ashkelonians and the municipality of Ashkelon.

The pupils of Krieger Shechter School presented Deputy Mayor Shlomo Cohen, also Chair of the Ashkelon-Baltimore Partnership, with a check - funds collected by them, as their barmitzvah project, for the Lynn Stacie Getz Playground.

Shlomo Cohen thanked the pupils for their generous contribution. Sigal read a personal message from Mayor Benny Vaknin. After the Park visit, the pupils continued on to visit Mekif Daled High School for a beautiful welcoming ceremony, and then left for a visit to Mitzpe Ramon airforce base. See more photos in our album at

http://picasaweb.google.com/nikirose/KriegerShechterInParkBaltimoreAshkelon#

A group photo in front of the lighthouse in the playground area, in memory of Lyn Stacie Getz.

Dr Paul Schneider,Principal of Krieger Shechter and Head of the delegation, with Sigal Ariely and pupils in the park

Shlomo Cohen, Deputy Mayor of Ashkelon, is presented with a cheque by Krieger Shechter pupils

Sheilah & Si Kalderon Visit

Coffee at Ashkelon Marina with Sigal and Nicole

Sheilah and Si Kalderon were in Ashkelon to check out some Baltimore Jewish Community funded projects and see the Michael Lapidus Park (Park Baltimore) and the Lyn Stacie Getz Playground.

As VP of the Women's Division at the Associated Sheilah and her husband Si, were particularly interested to hear about LEAP and see the new immigrants at Beit Canada Absorption Center.

Sheilah chooses LEAP work to take home with her With Oriana Hadad at Beit Canada

Above, Oriana explains that Ethiopian new immigrants can stay at the absorption center for up to two years. They live in self contained apartments while they learn Hebrew and adjust to the Israeli way of life.

No visit to Ashkelon is complete without a stroll round the Michael Lapidus Park (Park Baltimore )and the Lyn Stacie Getz Playground. The Park is rather dry now because of the drought related water restrictions. Nicole

The Baltimore Crab in the Lyn Stacie Getz Playground

More photos can be seen in the photo album.

Sue Liebman Visit

13th Nov: Sue Liebman was in Ashkelon for the day to see projects funded by The Associated. Together with Nicole, she visited Harel School to see the Tali program in action.

In the Grade One Tali Science class, the children learnt how oil is made Sue Liebman with the Headmistress of Harel School and two of the Tali teachers

Next stop was Meitar. The renovation of the Meitar building was funded by the Baltimore Jewish Community. From a disused wrecked kindergarden, the building has become an efficient facility for youth-at-risk, offering them a "home away from home", help with studies, as well as many different programs such as horse-riding, computers, music etc.

Sue with David Wolfson of Social Services, at Meitar

Sue was given a tour of the building, saw digital graphic work produced by the students as well as a newspaper they had published themselves. Sue chatted to some of the students about their life and hopes for the future. The center is run by Dafna Maman, and has been in operation for a year. They are still developing another much-needed multi-purpose hall to be used for handicrafts and carpentry.

Sue with David Wolfson of Ashkelon Social Services and Dafna Maman, Head of Meitar

Sue also visited the Michael Lapidus Park (Park Baltimore) and the Lyn Stacie Getz Playground and admired the mosaics made by the Plant and Futrovsky Families. Nicole

A view of Park Baltimore "The Michael Lapidus Park" - (looking southwards, from northern end).

Summer fun in Park Baltimore

As part of the summer activities run by Amen and the Youth Council ,our "shinshinim" Liron & Tal and the teens have kept the kids of Ashkelon busy in the afternoons with fun activities in playgrounds around the city. Here they are on the green lawn in The Michael Lapidus Park (Park Baltimore) and the Lyn Stacie Getz Playground where everyone is enjoying art and sports activities. Nicole

June-July Visits

Recent visitors from Baltimore:

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Steve Gevarter spent a day with us, together with his son David. They were on a trip to Israel with Chizuk Amona. The first picture shows all of us at lunch - Steve & David Gevarter, Mayor Roni, Deputy Mayor Levi, Dr Alan Marcus, and myself. The second picture shows David Gevarter - trying out Mayor Roni's seat for size.... who knows?!

Later that day the whole Chizuk Amona group came to Ashkelon for a few hours, visited Park Baltimore (which is looking green and lovely) and the Lyn Stacie Getz Playground, and visited Netzach Yisrael congregation.

Marty Waxman was here on a family trip and took the opportunity to stay overnight in the Ashkelon Holiday Inn, and get an update on economic development projects with the help of Eliezer Priel, Alan Marcus, Moty Harel, Iris Liebovich and myself. The group visited two new small businesses that received loans from the Loan Fund sponsored by the partnership.

Devera Routman - "DeeDee", spent nearly a whole week in Ashkelon and we kept her very busy. Amongst other activities, she volunteered at Gan Hofit kindergarten, she spent a morning with Nicole - visiting the Ladies Ethiopian Art Project, met Liron our young shinshin, ate lunch with Dr Sharf at Barzilai Medical Center, visited with Mayor Roni and Deputy Mayor Levi, walked round Park Baltimore and went to check out the Michael Lapides firetruck donated by the Baltimore community, at the Ashkelon fire-station.

Noa Nagar HaLevy - Diller program counselor, who stayed with Devera's daughter Tammy Heyman while she was on the Diller delegation to Baltimore, invited Devera (as well as Yuval, Nicole and myself) to a delicious and bountiful dinner at her lovely apartment, where Devera met Noa's family, admired the incredible sunset and view of Ashkelon from the 5th floor (top of a hill location), and said of the dinner "Of all the fancy restaurants I visited in Israel, this was the best dinner I have eaten during my whole trip". Nicole