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We are excited to be part of this community and make it ours! We are Gefen Miron and Ariel Demri, your Young Emissaries from Afula & Gilboa in Israwl. As we near our mid-year vacation, we wanted to share with some of our favorite experiences. Some of the highlights of the year, became evident as we began to accomplish our mission and goals by bringing the feeling of Israeli's to this community in a number of ways. The pride we feel watching the kids we work with, in Synagogues, at Ezra and MAKOM, who radiate smiles from our interaction with them, and even for getting the Osem Israeli snack company to send hundreds of bags of snacks to their classes! Throughout the New Haven Synagogues and at MAKOM we created an IDF Army experience, whereby the students understood what our friends are going through, and the experience we have deferred until next year. We wore our IDF uniforms, and had the 'units' of students go through a mini 'boot camp' experience... they loved it! Never having had interaction with Christians, we had the incredible experience of leading Israeli dance and giving our Israeli Jewish spirit to the audience at the "Christian United for Israel" major event at Gateway Christain Fellowship Church in full in support of Israel. This was a very unique and emotional event for us to actually feel the support of the Christian community. We have had many more rich and touching experiences in New Haven, far too many to list. We celebrated both Jewish and American holidays with our host families, and become part of their families. On my birth, I (Ariel) celebrated with the Wieners during an ice storm, with a homemade ET cake and Israeli dinner prepared by Eve, Jason and Jonathan, my host family. I look forward to every Shabbat at home and at Synagogue, which is just like hoem in Israel, to have quality and quiet time with the Wieners. When Melanie Stickman was awarded an 'outstanding student' award at her high school, I (Gefen) was the proud sister standing and applauding her. I also look forward to the delicious dinners and mothering of my host family, who have taken me to concerts and treated me like a queen. We know our relationships will last forever - Thank you! We look forward to the next few months, new relations and new experiences in the New Haven community. If you want to get together, either at your house or for an outing, pelase feel free to contact us. We'll bring the Bisli! Your emissaries, Gefen Miron Ariel Demri |
The relationship of the people of New Haven with Sierra Leone was initiated in 1839 when the African captives of the Amistad Revolt were brought from New London, CT to jail in New Haven to await trial for piracy and murder. The entire cabinet of Sierra Leone attended the dedication of the statute of Sengbe Pieh in New Haven in 1992.