Magbit Canada is deeply committed to strengthening the bond between Israeli and Canadian communities. Toward that end, we have established several people-to-people programs that create meaningful relationships between the two sides and foster a greater mutual understanding of our respective communities.

We are actively involved in Partnership 2000, which links Diaspora communities with cities and regions throughout Israel. With a focus on Israel’s periphery, we have established partnerships with the Galilee Panhandle on the northern border with Lebanon, with Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat, and with the capital of the Negev – Be’er Sheva. These partnerships give residents on both sides of the globe a dynamic framework through which to connect more closely and personally with one another.

Building Bridges

Through the Gesher Chai (Living Bridge) initiative, we support innovative informal educational programs that help build personal and lasting contacts between pupils, students and teachers in Israel and Canada. Twinning Israeli schools with their Canadian counterparts, Gesher Hai activities include mifgashim (encounters) between Canadian and Israeli student groups, teacher exchanges, and special-interest delegation visits.

Stressing the value of mifgashim between residents of the two countries, we arrange – together with Canada Israel Experience – encounters of another kind: interaction between Israel Defense Forces soldiers and young Canadian Jewish adults participating in the Taglit-birthright israel program.

Our people-to-people programs give partnered communities the opportunity to become more closely connected with one another; Israelis gain an appreciation for the challenges of leading a Jewish life in a multi-cultural, non-Jewish society, while Canadians better understand the difficulties of building and maintaining the Jewish state. In strengthening the relationship between the Jewish people, its land and its heritage, these programs reinforce Jewish identity, while emphasizing that Jews in the Diaspora and Israel are united together as Am Echad – one people.