Iris Posklinsky, Partnership director, with Iris Bartov. Posklinsky came to Austin following the conference and presented to Shalom Austin staff and Jewish community professionals. Courtesy: Iris Bartov

In July 2023, Iris Bartov, Shalom Austin adults and arts director, represented Shalom Austin in Fort Worth, Texas at the Council of Communities conference for Partnership2Gether Western Galilee.

It was a gathering of Jewish professionals and community leaders from 17 consortium cities in the U.S., Budapest and Israel. The annual meeting focused on program planning and provided a deep dive into Partnership2Gether including its mission, pillars, beliefs and activities, and how these align with strengthening the partnerships.

P2G is a program of The Jewish Agency and Jewish Federations of North America combined, promoting people-to-people relationships through cultural, social, medical, educational, and economic programs.

Made up of an inclusive and active network of people, the focus is on the exchange of ideas and programs with the goal of developing relationships. In the process, we strengthen our global

Jewish Identity.

Through its P2G partnership, this past year, Shalom Austin hosted Israeli musicians from the Western Galilee who attended Shalom Austin’s Israel at 75 community celebration with over 1,000 attendees. Shalom Austin’s mission trip to Israel in November will spend time in the Western Galilee as part of the 25th anniversary of its P2G partnership and to further build

connections, friendships and bonds with Israel and the greater Jewish world.

Bartov plans to implement more programs in Austin through the P2G partnership and continue to grow the relationships with the people she met at the conference.