Fourteen teenage girls from Baltimore recently visited their sister city, Ashkelon, as part of the MASA Baltimore Encounters program.  The trip enabled Baltimore youth to meet their Israeli peers face to face, to learn more about the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership, and to strengthen their connection to the ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore.

"Today we went on an awesome trip to visit our sister city, Ashkelon.
We met with very nice girls from the Garin Torani Orot in Ashkelon
And spread the Hanukkah spirit," said Hinda Edelson, one of the MASA participants.
 
The Baltimore teens are spending the year in Israel studying in Jerusalem.

This event was organized by the HaGarin HaTorani Orot (group of idealistic and religious Zionists who work to affect change in Israel) in cooperation with MASA, the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership, with support from the ASSOCIATED. The teens lit Hanukkah candles at a traffic circle in the center of the city, danced, sang festive songs and ate sufganiyot (jelly donuts) that they handed out to passersby.
 
The Baltimore girls also volunteered at the Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon as part of their "chessed mitzvah" (good deeds). They visited patients and handed out  sufganiyot. Along with Israeli youth from local youth movements they went door-to door handing out sufganiyot. Afterwards they lit candles and sang Hanukkah songs with Israeli families and shared a festive meal together.