By Libat Kaminsky
Yoav Partnership2Gether Director

My name is Libat Kaminsky. I am a mother of four, an educator, and a historian whose research focuses on Black music and civil rights in the United States. I am also a singer-songwriter, creating music from a belief in the power of art, culture, and human stories to connect people and inspire change.

Over the past several years, I have worked within the Partnership2Gether framework as a partnership coordinator in the Shoham-Memphis and Beit Shemesh-South Africa partnerships. In the past month, I stepped into the role of director of the Yoav-Lehigh Valley partnership, while also managing the Hof Ashkelon partnership, which works primarily with kibbutzim in the Gaza Envelope, an area where resilience, mutual responsibility, and partnership are not abstract concepts, but daily realities.

I strongly believe that deep and lasting connections are created through education, culture, and the arts, through genuine human encounters, attentive listening to one another’s stories, and shared action. The relationship between Jewish communities around the world and Israel, and between Israelis and the Diaspora, is one of the foundations that sustain us as a people. These connections affirm who we are, where we come from, and the shared responsibility we hold toward one another.

Since October 7, the values of mutual responsibility and the understanding of the Jewish people as one collective have become even more visible and powerful. In moments of crisis and uncertainty, the importance of strong partnerships, authentic human connections, and the knowledge that we are not alone, either in Israel or in the Diaspora, has become clearer than ever.

I step into my role as director of the Yoav-Lehigh Valley partnership with a deep sense of purpose, responsibility, and hope. I look forward to strengthening existing relationships, expanding our shared initiatives, and building meaningful projects together, projects that connect communities, generations, and stories, here and across the Jewish world.