Laura King, the chair of the Network of Independent Communities of the UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America, surrounded by school children in Dimona.

Laura King, the newly named chair of the Network of Independent Communities of the UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America, visited Israel in early March and spent an intensive two days in Dimona, the Network's "sister city" through the Jewish Agency's Partnership 2000 (P2K).

The Network of Independent Communities brings together 400 small communities throughout North America that are not within Federation areas. These communities are a critically important part of the Jewish Federation system, and have a long history of devoted support for the Annual Campaign and humanitarian causes in the U.S., Israel and around the world.

King, of Huntsville, Alabama, has been president of the Jewish Federation of Huntsville and North Alabama since 2006. She travels regularly to Israel, and has supported and coordinated projects independently and in collaboration with The Jewish Federations of North America.
On this recent visit, King attended the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel, and then spent time in Dimona, where she toured many projects and was reunited with her family, Yamit and Shimon Alfasi. Over the two-day tour, King visiting P2K's flagship "Lunch N Learn" program – a program that provides an extended school day and a nourishing hot lunch for at-risk school children in Dimona and Yerocham -  and was welcomed at a reception at the Naveh school.

She also visited Jewish Agency projects in Dimona including Youth Futures, Net@ and Atidim, and toured Dimona's new medical center and also visited a local project for women called Isha.
 
At a dinner party hosted at the home of the Alfasi family, Dimona's Mayor Meir Cohen was in attendance.

King promised the youth of Dimona that she would keep them in mind as she continued to work on their behalf. She also pledged to strengthen ties between the Jewish communities of the Network and Dimona.