October 27, 2002
21 Cheshvan, 5763
Jerusalem

The New Challnge: The Jewish Agency - Government of Israel and World Jewry Initiative to Create A Zionist Majority in The Negev and Galilee

Jewish Agency Treasurer Shai Hermesh will present the project to the Agency's Board of Governors on Monday 28 October

The New Challenge, an initiative of the Jewish Agency in conjunction with the Government of Israel and World Jewry, intends to create a Zionist majority in the Negev and Galilee. Jewish Agency Treasurer Shai Hermesh will present this project to the Jewish Agency Board of Governors (BOG), on Monday, 28 October at 16:30.

The project will strengthen rural communities and will reinforce villages on the borderline in the Galilee and Negev. The New Challenge will likewise establish additional colleges in these regions in order to further higher education. The project will attract new residents to the Galilee and Negev and will forge new partnerships with Diaspora Jewish communities.

Jewish Agency Treasurer, Shai Hermesh, said that The New Challenge will continue through 2010. The project will absorb 200,000 new residents in the Galilee and 150,000 in the Negev. It will develop 50 rural communities and will include the Bedouin and Druse communities of these regions.

The Government of Israel will participate in the project through the intermediary of the World Zionist Organization Settlement Division. The regional councils, the private sector, and World Jewry will likewise join the Jewish Agency in this project.

The Jewish Agency Board of Governors is convening in Jerusalem from 27-29 October. The BOG, comprised of 120 members, is the highest administrative body of the Jewish Agency. It oversees operations of the Jewish Agency and is authorized to establish permanent and ad hoc committees. The Board of Governors meets three times a year, in February, June, and October. It formulates the Jewish Agency's budget and makes policy and operational decisions for the Jewish Agency.

For additional information please contact Yehuda Weinraub 053-927017 

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