By Bayley Carl
JFLV Marketing & Engagement Associate

Summer has come and gone in the blink of an eye. While some of our plans stayed intact, others did not. One of the things we’re sorry we missed out on was meeting the teens who come from Yoav to work at the JCC summer camp.
In lieu of meeting the teens in person, Partnership2Gether and the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley have teamed up to present you a Facebook video series called “Summer in Yoav.”

Partnership2Gether is a program where the Jewish Agency for Israel connects our community in the Lehigh Valley and the Yoav Regional Council in Israel. 

“Summer in Yoav” will take the Facebook community on a virtual tour of 12 of Yoav’s 14 kibbutzim and moshavim. Residents everywhere from Re’em Junction in the north to Kiryat Gat in the south, Beit Guvrin to the east and Givati Junction in the west will take you on tours of their communities.

You’ll even get to meet some of the teens who were supposed to be camp counselors this summer!

The idea for “Summer in Yoav” came from a collaboration between our very own former community shlicha Rotem Bar and Partnership2Gether’s Associate Director Amit Zehavi.

Zehavi shared, “In times when real travel is unavailable, a virtual visit is the next best thing. Twelve of the 14 Yoav communities are represented, and all the videos were lovingly prepared by Partnership2Gether beneficiaries, some JCC summer camp alumni, some Momentum alumni and members of our joint steering committee.”

She added that “in each and every one of these places, we can find families that will be more than happy to host folks from Lehigh valley for a meal, coffee, a tour of the area and even overnight.”

The connections that have been made between the Lehigh Valley and Yoav communities are proving just how strong they are. Stay tuned for more virtual tours of Yoav!