This longstanding transatlantic Partnership between Sha'ar Hanegev on the Gaza border and the San Diego Jewish community has proven itself in moments of security crisis as well as in calmer moments. We've developed friendly personal relationships between thousands of West Coast residents and many hundreds of inhabitants of Israel's western border.

We've generated connections between educational, social welfare and community organizations. Thanks to emergency drives and the regular budget the Partnership places at our disposal, babies, children and teens have been able to enjoy an improved fare of local culture and sports, emotional relief and physical protection—all so vital in Sha'ar Hanegev.

Over the years, veteran residents of Sha'ar Hanegev, the pioneers who established settlements in the northern Negev, have received special attention from our Partnership. Our San Diego friends were the first to stand by us in establishing our protected high school, which was built and has become a wonderful educational institution. This is happening again, as we are about to establish a protected culture & sports center on the education campus, next to the high school.

An exciting initiative is gathering momentum: the establishment of an 'incubator' for hi- tech enterprises. Here too, our San Diego friends are front-row in advancing the idea and soliciting resources. The Jewish Agency assists us in strengthening our good relations. The three bodies are jointly setting themselves a strategic goal: to strengthen responsibility of members of the San Diego Jewish community and members of the Sha'ar Hanegev community for their respective communities.

The Jewish People, concentrated primarily in the U.S. and Israel, are currently at an unprecedented moment in their long history. We live in an age of economic abundance and acceptance of Jews as equals in the family of nations. We must pay attention, jointly, to the threat at our doorstep: the release from responsibility of our girls and boys for the fate of the Jewish People—for its communities in the Diaspora and in Israel. Our Partnership is founded on an extraordinary common past, strengthens present reality, and thus assures our future.

Well done!
Alon Schuster