The first meal at home - Soldier Semen Dishko with his father Boris several minutes after his arrival in Moscow

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Twenty year old Semen Dishko made aliyah alone in 1997 as a participant in the Jewish Agency's Chalom program. In August 1999 he enlisted in the IDF and joined the Border Police. This week the Jewish Agency sent him to Moscow to visit his parents whom he has not seen since he was drafted. At the same time Michael Daks, a 24-year old soldier serving in the paratroops, was sent to visit his parents in Toronto, Canada.

The two soldiers were sent home to visit their families in their countries of origin as part of a special campaign run jointly by the Jewish Agency and Galei Zahal (Israel Army radio station) to strengthen the bond among young Jews all over the world. The campaign, which will be broadcast on August 22^nd, is entitled: "The Jewish Agency - the Israel Experience for Diaspora Jewish Youth Around The World".

Issues on the agenda of the Jewish people in general and Jewish youth in particular will be highlighted on the Galei Zahal broadcasts through interviews with representatives of Jewish communities in the Diaspora and personal stories relayed by Jewish youngsters. The various programs on Jewish education and identity run by the Jewish Agency for the younger generation in the Diaspora will also be discussed. These include the Israel Experience, and the Jewish Agency's programs for absorbing youngsters in Israel.

In addition to visiting their parents, the two soldiers will also visit summer camps in the FSU and North America accompanied by Galei Zahal broadcasters. This year the Jewish Agency sent 1,150 young Israeli emissaries to summer camps, in which more than 150,000 Jewish youth are participating.

"The three teenagers from Great Britain who were hospitalized at Jerusalem's Hadassah Mt. Scopus hospital, after becoming ill during an organized tour of Israel, feel excellent and are expected to be discharged within a few days," said Prof. Dan Engelhard, a leading pediatric specialist in Israel in the field of infectious diseases. The other members of the group of 370 teenagers from a British Zionist Federation group, who were on a month-long Young Judaea tour of Israel returned home to Britain safely yesterday.

The Jewish Agency chose Prof. Engelhard to supervise the medical treatment for the youngsters, after three members of the group were taken ill during their visit and found to be suffering from severe infectious diseases. One of the youngsters was suffering from blood poisoning caused by the meningitis bacteria. "Thanks to an early diagnosis he was treated immediately and he is now making an excellent recovery," said Prof. Engelhard. The two other youths were found to be suffering from a viral form of meningitis which resulted in fever, head-ache and vomiting. As soon as the illness was diagnosed, the youngsters were hospitalized and received intensive antibiotic treatment.

As soon as the three were hospitalized, their parents came to Israel to be at their children's bedside. A Jewish Agency representative is also at the hospital taking note of the youngsters' condition and in order to help them and their parents wherever necessary. Amos Hermon, Chairman of the Jewish Agency's Education Committee and Eli Ben Eliezer, Deputy Director, visited the hospitalized youngsters this week and promised their parents that the children would receive the best professional care available in Israel.

According to Ministry of Health directives, the return flight with the rest of the group was delayed yesterday in order to ascertain their medical condition and administer preventative antibiotic treatment. Some 30 youngsters who had complained of suspicious symptoms, were examined at the hospital immediately and discharged after they were found to be healthy.

After the Ministry of Health had given notice that the flight was to be postponed, Jewish Agency representatives in London informed the 400 families. Dubi Bergman, head of the Jewish Agency delegation in England, said that "as soon as we were informed that the flight had been delayed, we opened a situation room and set up a hot-line to update the parents. All JAFI delegation employees, together with doctors, were enlisted for this task in order to explain the situation and calm anxious parents. At the same time, alternative flight arrangements were made for the youngsters."

The teenagers were hosted in Israel by the Young Judaea youth movement, as part of the Jewish Agency's Israel Experience. They toured the entire country, met with Israeli youngsters and learned about study possibilities in Israel. Despite the unfortunate incident, the youngsters seemed enthusiastic about visiting Israel again, and some even said that they want to make aliyah.

Jewish Agency leaders and senior professional staff will hold a memorial ceremony at the beginning of next month for the late Uri Gordon, President of the Zionist Council in Israel, marking the traditional 30 days since his death. The event will take the form of a seminar dedicated to the " Zionist idea" as the basis for Jewish Agency activity.

Board member Arye Azoulay, who heads the seminar's steering committee, said that the program is designed to strengthen the ideological basis for Jewish Agency activity focusing on aliyah and the rescue of Jews; assistance in immigration and absorption; strengthening the bond between Israel and the Diaspora and strengthening Jewish education and identity in Israel and abroad: "Uri Gordon himself would have sought to commemorate his life in this way and we are all aware of how much he will be missed at this discussion. We constantly miss his presence and cannot stop thinking about him as a leader and guide," said Azoulay.

All senior Jewish Agency and Zionist Federation staff will participate in this day-long seminar, including Jewish Agency Chairman Sallai Meridor and Treasurer Chaim Chesler, JAFI Director General, Aaron Abramovich, members of the Zionist Executive and the Jewish Agency, directors general, division and regional directors, and absorption center directors.

They will discuss the State of Israel as a Jewish State and as a democratic state for all its citizens, regardless of race or nationality. The discussion will focus on the Law of Return and national land and Jewish settlement. Former MK Hanan Porat, Professor Eliezer Schweid, Prof. Yaakov Shavit, Prof. Claude Klein and MK Benny Elon have also been invited to the discussions.

Professors Yehezkel Dror, Gabi Shefer and Yosef Gorney will speak about the Zionist idea in our time.

• $40,000 has been invested this year by the Jewish Agency in the continuation of two training programs for community center staff members. One of these informal education programs is for educators from the US, carried out in conjunction with the Jewish Community Centers of America. The other , for educators from other countries, is undertaken together with the World Confederation of Jewish Community Centers.

• $25,000 has been allocated by the Jewish Agency this year to Pinat Shorashim at the Kibbutz Gezer Seminar Center for a hands-on program that enhances Jewish identity among Israeli youth. Incorporating a combination of educational modules, the program is a process of Jewish learning consisting of work projects that strengthen the role that Judaism plays in their lives as Israelis.

• $16,000 has been allocated this year to the Counseling Center for Women as part of the Jewish Agency's support to vulnerable populations. The program, designed to empower Israeli women, offers therapy, support groups, workshops and lectures dealing with loss, sexual abuse, incest, assertiveness, parenting and other subjects.

• The Israel Professional Internship Program is designed for students and university graduates between the ages of 19 and 35 who want to get to know Israel or are considering aliyah. This Jewish Agency program, run by the Aliyah Movement, offers valuable unpaid work experience in firms and institutions throughout Israel enabling interns to work in their professions. The program lasts between two to six months, and each placement is tailor-made to suit the needs of the employer and the qualifications of the applicant.

• Kibbutz ulpans constitute the largest framework for young adults currently operated by the Jewish Agency. This year there are 138 ulpan classes on 35 kibbutzim with about 3,175 students. The program includes a half day of Hebrew studies with a half day of work on the kibbutz. About 60% of the participants are new immigrants, predominantly young adults from the former Soviet Union. Tourists also enroll in kibbutz ulpan programs. Both new immigrants and tourists contribute toward the costs involved.

• 1,427 new immigrants from throughout the world arrived in Israel this week. 1,142 were from the FSU and 100 from Eastern Europe. The rest came from France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Uruguay, Brazil, Ecuador, Sweden, England, Germany, Finland, India, the US and Canada.

Senator Joseph Lieberman and his wife Hadassah

If Joe Lieberman is elected Vice President of the United States, Americans will have to get used to new arrangements at the top. Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, was selected by the Democratic candidate, Al Gore, because of his high moral values, and specifically because of his religious commitment. Lieberman is a member of Washington's Kesher Israel Synagogue, as well as the Adas Israel Congregation's Bnei Akiva minyan.

Lieberman earned a reputation as an American politician with strong Jewish roots and ties to the State of Israel. In 1992, when Warren Christopher was appointed Secretary of State, it was Lieberman who initiated the new Secretary's first meeting with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. This meeting paved the way for creating deep and loyal ties between him and the Jewish community.

Yuppie America relates to the new American culture as a culture steeped in Judeo-Christian values. Thus, the nomination of Lieberman, married to Hadassah, is accepted as most natural.

Three hundred and fifty Jewish pre-school children are spending the summer at Jewish Agency day camps all over Ukraine. The 4 to 11 year olds are, for the first time, learning about Israel and the Jewish festivals through games, arts and crafts classes and plays. The children are also learning basic Hebrew. Working with the children are local teachers and youth leaders who have been specially trained by the Jewish Agency's Education Department in a program which combines pre-school education methods with Jewish-Zionist education.

Eli Izhaki, head of the Jewish Agency's Ukraine delegation, said that is the first time the Agency has initiated educational activities for pre-schoolers in its educational activity: "Seeing these little children's enthusiasm for the Jewish festivals and hearing them speak their first words in Hebrew moves one to tears. Afterwards they go home and tell their parents about their experiences. The parents then come to us and ask to learn about Jewish tradition and Israel."

"While the parents learn at Hebrew and about Jewish identity at ulpans, their children learn about Israel. We hope that beyond the acquaintance with the Jewish culture, which the children have never been exposed to before, the information gleaned at these day camps will assist those making aliyah to settle into pre-school and school frameworks in Israel," said Izhaki.

According to the estimates of the Jewish Agency's FSU Department, there are currently 240,000 Jews in Ukraine. During the first seven months of the current year, 10,075 olim arrived in Israel from Ukraine, 17% of them children.

104 candidates for teaching Jewish identity among Jews in the former Soviet Union arrived in Israel last week to participate in a special teacher-training seminar organized by the Jewish Agency. The teachers, who arrived from all over the FSU, will study at the Yaakov Herzog Institute at Kibbutz Ein-Tzurim for a month.

The training program will include acquiring didactic skills and lectures on subjects such as: The history of the Jewish People and Zionism; Jewish creativity throughout the generations; Jewish tradition; the philosophical aspects of Jewish culture; the contribution made to the world by Jewish values; and the significance of the State of Israel. The teachers will also participate in study tours of the country and will meet with Israeli public personalities including scholars and academics, rabbis, politicians and former Prisoners of Zion.

Most of the candidates at the seminar are Hebrew teachers at Jewish Agency ulpans throughout the FSU, and some are active in local Jewish organizations. At the end of the seminar they will take exams for certification in their area of specialization and will become part of the Jewish Agency's teaching network, as part of the program to intensify Jewish identity.

Amos Lahat, director of the Jewish Agency's FSU Department, says that this is the first group of teachers to participate in the Jewish identity training program in Israel: "Due to a shortage of local teachers we decided to open a training course in Israel designed to provide basic concepts in teaching Jewish identity in the FSU, as well as to strengthen the Jewish identity of the teachers themselves. Based on this seminar, we will build a comprehensive enrichment program which will include follow-up studies in the country of origin."

The program for intensifying Jewish identity is being run by the Jewish Agency in an effort to raise the level of Jewish identity among Jews in the FSU who have been cut off from their roots for more than 70 years. The program is also designed to assist candidates for aliyah to become familiar with Jewish tradition and Jewish culture and thus ease their absorption into Israeli society. In addition, the program enables those olim who are not halachically Jewish, to accumulate credit points during their studies in the FSU in preparation for their conversion in Israel.

The study program takes place at Hebrew language ulpans run by the Jewish Agency in the FSU. During the first five months of the program, more than 7,000 candidates for aliyah have participated in the ulpan.

More than 30 Jewish communal professionals of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County recently returned from a professional development seminar in Israel. The 10-day seminar gave staff members the opportunity to strengthen their personal and professional ties with Israel and gain a firsthand understanding of how Federation, the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) make a difference in the lives of Israelis and other Jews throughout the world.

According to Jeffrey L. Klein, Executive Vice President of the Federation, the seminar is the first of its kind undertaken by a Federation within the United Jewish Communities system. It was funded through a grant from the Mandel Foundation, which helps provide outstanding leadership for the nonprofit world and acts as a catalyst for strengthening community and improving society.

Federation staff traveled to the Tzahar Region, their Partnership 2000 cities of Safed, Hatzor and Rosh Pina, to learn how Federation's six-year alliance benefits the education and economic development needs of this Upper Galilee area. Livnot U'Lehibanot brings students and post-college adults to the Tzahar Region to reconnect to Judaism and participate in community service projects, hosted Federation staff for a moving Shabbat experience.

The remainder of the seminar was based in Jerusalem, where the Palm Beach staff learned about JAFI and JDC programs, especially those that assist new immigrants from Ethiopia and Israeli-Diaspora relations.

"In terms of knowledge, team-building and understanding Federation's mission, I can think of no other activity that could equal the effect of this seminar on my staff," Klein said. "I hope this will become a model that is duplicated at other Federations."

Sixteen special needs teenagers from New Jersey recently completed a four-week Israel Experience program sponsored by the Israel Program Center of the Metro-West Jewish Federation. The youngsters, who suffer from a variety of learning disabilities, ranging from ADD to more serious syndromes, were accompanied by Americans and Israeli counselors. Staff also included a social worker, and a counselor from the Rosh Pina Mainstreaming Network, a nonprofit group in Israel that brings special needs children together with their peers.

According to Amir Shacham, community representative for Metro-West in Israel, this is the first Israel Experience program for a special-needs group. The educational program's theme was the Jewish heritage, past and present, with a focus on how different communities interpret Jewish tradition in different ways. The group had encounters with various ethnic groups as well as representatives of various streams in modern Jewish life.

The young Americans toured the whole country, especially the South - the Negev, Beersheva, Massada, and Eilat. In their Ofakim-Merhavim partnership region, they met Israeli teenagers. They discussed current issues including the peace process.

"These are all new experiences for the youngsters," said Robin Margent of South Orange, NJ, one of the counselors accompanying the group. "At home there is a tendency not to push them. I think many parents will be very surprised at what the kids did and how they handled themselves."

Some 20 youngsters from all over the United Kingdom are currently participating in the Federation of Zionist Youth second timers program 'Kaytana Be'Shemesh' (KBS) in the northern city of Karmiel, which has been run in partnership with the UJIA and the Jewish Agency since 1996. The FZY group are running two specially designed summer "Camps in the Sun," reaching out to over 160 children aged 5 - 11, most of whom are recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU).

Tammy Kenton, the Director of UJIA Israel's Northern Region comments that for most of these children it is their first-ever camp in Israel. "If we didn't help run this camp they wouldn't have any summer activities at all," she said. In addition, five of the FZY leaders are helping to run a 'special needs' camp for 20 children with disabilities.

The British youth leaders are running the kaytana in partnership with 17 Israeli peers from Karmiel who have opened up their homes and are hosting the entire FZY group. "This enables a true and lasting connection to be built up between people - which is the whole aim of this sort of program," says Aaron Lazarus the leader of the FZY group.

Leigh Webber, age 17 from Edgware adds: "The Israeli leaders are absolutely great and I most certainly plan to stay in touch with them. By actually working with Israelis we are not only learning so much about Israel and Israeli society, but it has also been fun and rewarding."

The actual kaytana program, which is also subsidized by the Karmiel municipality, followed an intensive week of preparation and bonding between the Israeli and British groups at the Karei Deshe Youth Hostel on Lake Kinneret.

The hills around Kiryat Shemona filled with music earlier this week and the skies with fireworks when 10,000 residents of the north enjoyed a summer celebration held against the background of the quiet that Israel's north has experienced since the Israel Defense Forces withdrawal from the security zone in southern Lebanon. The event was supported by the Jewish community of Canada, together with the Jewish Agency, and "Omanut Le'Am" as part of the Ministry of Science Culture and Sport.

The event was part of the support that the Jewish Agency has been providing to the residents of the Confrontation Line region since the IDF withdrawal. The concert included appearances by singers Rikki Gal and Galia Atari, as well as by the group Knesiat HaSechel. Participants included Matan Vilnai, Minister of Science, Culture and Sport; Chaim Barbibai, Mayor of Kiryat Shemona, and Victor Yagoda, senior representative of the United Israel Appeal of Canada.

Speaking during the concert, Jewish Agency Treasurer, Chaim Chesler, noted that the event is not only part of a series of activities that the Agency has been holding in the north this summer, but no less part of a wider multi-year program that is complementing the government support package for the north.

The Jewish Agency plans to invest $120 million in the north over the next five years. Part of this money is going towards forgiving the debts to the Agency that the kibbutzim and moshavim have accumulated. Part will be used to develop and run social and cultural enrichment programs that will improve the quality of life of the residents of the north. Some of the funds will be used to develop new employment opportunities in the north, while some will be directed to leadership training programs.

This summer the Jewish Agency has invested $ 750,000 in activities in the north that have enriched the lives of the residents of the region and particularly its youth. The funds, provided by UJC and Keren Hayesod, have enabled the Jewish Agency to run summer camps for 7,000 children, and cultural activities for 3,000 youth, as well as three central events for the residents of the area, of which this week's "Blue Skies" was the second event. The summer will end with a "happening" on the beach.

A 97-year old copy of the "Zionist Shekel," which was issued in 1903 for the sixth Zionist Congress, will be transferred in the next few days to the Zionist Archive in Jerusalem. The copy, which carries the serial number 8458, was a family heirloom in the family of Haim Silman, a British Jew, who last month, on reaching the age of 80, decided to give it to the Jewish Agency delegation in Britain.

According to Dubi Bergman, head of the Jewish Agency delegation in Britain, the Zionist Shekel served as a receipt for payment of membership dues to the World Zionist Organization. Such membership was a pre-condition for voting in elections to the Zionist Congresses. This "virtual shekel" gave the purchaser the right to elect candidates to the Zionist Congress.

The cost of the Zionist Shekel varied from one country to another and from year to year. Sales of the Zionist Shekel rose in a year in which the Congress was held as many more Jews sought to influence the outcome of the election as the date of the Congress drew near. At the beginning of the twentieth century the Zionist Congress met every two years.

The document, which appears in three languages - Hebrew, Yiddish and English - states: "Zionism strives for the acquisition of a legally secure and publicly recognized home in Palestine for the Jewish people".

The Zionist Shekel - Minted in 1903 for the 6^th Zionist Conference

Israel's Ambassador to France, Eliahu Ben-Elissar, died this week from heart failure in Paris. Ben-Elissar made aliyah to Israel as a child survivor of the Holocaust, served in the Mossad, and later joined the Likud party. He was appointed Israel's first ambassador to Cairo and served as a Member of the Israeli Knesset from 1981 to 1996.

Michael Kalgonov training for Sydney

Israel is sending 39 athletes to Sydney next month, the largest delegation in the country's Olympic history. The three top athletes, considered most likely to bring back medals from Sydney, include two immigrants from the former Soviet Union and one native Israeli.

Michael Kalgonov, a kayaker, was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He immigrated to Israel in 1995, and lives on Kibbutz Deganya Bet. Kalganov, age 25, who began kayaking at age 12, won a gold medal in the 1,000-meter competition and a silver in the 500-meter competition at the 2000 world championships in Poland last month.

Alex Averbukh, also 25, was born in Irkutsk, Siberia, and immigrated to Israel last year. A decathlon specialist in Russia, he has concentrated on pole vaulting in Israel. Averbukh won the gold medal in the European indoor championships in Ghent, Belgium with a jump of 5.75 meters earlier this year. He also won the bronze medal in the world athletics championships in Seville last year, with a jump of 5.80 meters, to become the first Israeli medal winner there.

Israeli-born Amit Inbar, 28, is a windsurfer. He won the silver medal in the European championships in May, and placed fourth in the world championships. In 1998, he won the gold medal in the European championships.

The largest-ever Israeli Olympic delegation includes several other recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union: Danny Krasnov, pole vaulter, 30, who immigrated from Moscow in 1991, and who is the only Israeli male athlete to reach an Olympic track and field final by placing eighth in Barcelona in 1992; Konstantin Matusevich, a high jumper, 29, who immigrated from Ukraine 1995, and earned the world's highest leap this year in Australia; Alex Pokhomovsky, 28, who immigrated from Moscow in 1998 and holds the Israeli 100 meter record; Greco-Roman wrestlers Gotcha Tzitziashvilli, 26, who immigrated from Georgia, and finished fifth in the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, Yuri Evseychik, 27, who made aliyah from Ukraine in 1997 and won the silver medal in the European championships in 1998, and Michael Beilin, 24, who also immigrated from Ukraine and who won the bronze medal in the 1999 world championships.

The Israel Philatelic Services issued a new stamp recently in honor of the upcoming Sydney Olympic Games. Bearing a value of NIS 2.80, the stamp shows a koala bear riding a bicycle, with the Israel Olympic Committee's symbol in the background.

Sixteen young athletes from Israel left last week for the United States, where they will take part in the annual JCC Maccabi sports competition. The teenagers - 14 from the Arad-Tamar region and two from the Ofakim-Merchavim region - will participate in tennis, swimming, basketball and bowling at games held in Richmond, Virginia and in Staten Island, NY.

The youngsters will join peers from their partnered cities within the Jewish Agency-United Jewish Communities Partnership 2000 framework and participate as part of their delegations. Arad-Tamar is partnered with New Jersey and Delaware, and Ofakim-Merchavim is linked with MetroWest and Bergen County.

JCC Maccabi athletes take time out from the competition to volunteer within the hosting community. Activities include visiting children's hospitals, feeding the homeless, cleaning inner city athletic fields, working with Special Olympic athletes, etc.

"This unique event serves to build character and self esteem among its young athletes, at once demanding excellence on the competitive field and providing an opportunity to learn about oneself and one's peers from around the globe in the social arena as well," says Steve Koonin, Vice President of Presence Marketing for Coca-Cola, a continental corporate sponsor of the JCC Maccabi Games.

"This exemplifies the concept of developing a real, live connection between partnered communities - through sports, music or what have you," says Shmuel Kaplan, the Living Bridge Coordinator in Arad-Tamar.

The Maccabi games, an Olympic-style sporting competition held each summer in North America, are the largest organized sports programs for Jewish teenagers in the world. 5000 athletes and 1000 coaches from more than 100 US and Canadian cities, plus Israel, Mexico and Great Britain participate.

The games will continue throughout August in five locations: Richmond, VA, Staten Island, NY, Tucson, AZ, Boca Raton, FL, and Cincinnati, OH. Competitions are held in sports as diverse as baseball, basketball, bowling, chess, cross country, dance, golf, gymnastics, hockey, karate, racquetball, soccer, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling.

An "Open Day" devoted to Jewish culture will take place all over Europe on Sunday September 3rd. The aim of the Open Day is to introduce the general public to European Jewish sites to promote a better understanding of Jewish heritage. During this day, over 100 sites in nine Western and Eastern European countries - synagogues, Jewish cemeteries, ritual baths, museums, and others - will be open to visitors. Participating countries include the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, and Holland, as well as Romania and Bulgaria.

"Many sites such as synagogues are closed to the public on a daily basis," explains Ailene Brandon, Director of Administration for Bnai Brith Europe in Brussels, which is coordinating the program together with the Agence de Developpement Touristique du Bas-Rhin (ADT) and the European Council of Jewish Communities. "In addition to guided tours, activities such as concerts and exhibitions, will expose visitors to the Jewish heritage," says Brandon. She notes that in Europe today, non-Jews have expressed great interest in Jewish traditions. Thousands of visitors are expected.

This is the first time this "Open Day" is taking place throughout Europe. Since 1996 it has been held in Alsace, near the German border. The European Union has included the event on its official list of cultural programs.

A crowd of over 15,000 flocked to the City of Meron earlier this week to hear Chassidic rock superstar Avraham Fried together with noted Israeli singer Benny Elbaz and the Off Simches singing group for an evening of solidarity with the residents of Israel's Confrontation Line. The audience enthusiastically joined in the singing and dancing.

The event, which took place on Tu B'Av (15^th of Av), was sponsored by the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Merom Hagalil Regional Council, the Israeli Ministry's of Education, Culture and The Ministry of Religion, Meron, and Carmel wines.

In light of the tension following the IDF's withdrawal from Lebanon earlier this summer, the Jewish Agency, with the support of world Jewry, has contributed to a series of programs designed to provide encouragement for the residents of the north. Activities have included artistic performances in Kiryat Shmona and Achziv, summer camps for 1,000 youth, 18 summer camps for disabled or sick children, and 48 local cultural events.

A total of $1.5 million has been donated for this purpose. In addition to support from local organizations, contributions have come from special funds in the US, Great Britain, Canada, and 50 other countries that support UIA-Keren Hayesod, the Spirit of Israel campaign also contributed to this event.

A get-together between Greek Jews from the US and Greek Jews living in Israel, took place recently at Moshav Tzur Moshe near Netanya. This first settlement of Greek Jews in Eretz Israel, was founded in 1937 by a small group of 20 Greek Zionists who had immigrated to Palestine. Funds for the purchase of the land were offered by the Carasso family from Salonika.

One of the participants in the meeting was Moshe (Moisis) Houli from Salonika. He is the only surviving member of the original group of twenty young men who established the settlement. Houli, now 85, remembers how there was "nothing, only the sky above us and the sand below us. We lived in a tent all twenty of us. We cultivated the land with our own hands."

About 50 people of Greek origin, from Israel and from the United States, participated in the event, which was co-sponsored by Kol HaKehila, an Israeli newspaper dedicated to preserving the Greek heritage; Kehila Kedosha Jannina, a Greek synagogue in downtown Manhattan, founded at the beginning of the 19th century; and Friends of Greek Jewry, a New York organization that focuses on the preservation of monuments pertaining to Greek Jews. Dr. Elias Messinas, editor of Kol HaKehila, estimates that about 1,000 Greek Jews live in Israel today.

Stuffed vine leaves, with a variety of fillings, are a regular feature of almost all Middle Eastern cuisines. They may be filled with meat, or rice and meat, and are served hot. When the stuffing is rice only they can also be served cold. Both fresh vine leaves or pickled leaves (in brine) purchased in the market may be used.

Ingredients:

9 oz. fresh or pickled vine leaves 3/4 cup rice
2 tomatoes
2 onions
2 stems of parsley
4 sticks of celery
10 oz. of minced beef
1 tspn. salt
1/2 tspn. black pepper
1/2 tspn. cinnamon
3 Tbspns. tomato paste
4 cloves of chopped garlic
juice of 2 lemons
pinch of turmeric
1 cup water

Preparation:

• If using fresh vine leaves, they must first be boiled in water to soften. If pickled vine leaves are used, they should be soaked in hot water to reduce the salt.

• Cook the rice in water until partially soft. Chop the tomatoes and onions into small cubes and chop parsley and celery fine.

• Add the chopped vegetables and ground meat to the rice, flavor with salt, pepper and cinnamon. Add the tomato paste and mix well.

• Place a vine leaf on the work surface and place some of the mixture in the center, close to the stem. Fold the edges of the leaf inwards and roll into a small package.

• Arrange all the stuffed leaves closely beside each other in a broad pan, and sprinkle the chopped garlic over them. In a small bowl mix the lemon juice, turmeric and water and pour over the stuffed leaves.

• Cook on a medium flame for an hour and a half. Serve hot or cold.

B'Te'avon! Bon Appetit!