2009 was chock full of passages. Natan Sharansky accepted the Chairmanship of the Executive at the Jewish Agency, and the Jewish Agency celebrated 80 years of service. The Jewish world suffered a blow with the passing of Mendel Kaplan, beloved philanthropist and friend of the Jewish Agency and Keren Hayesod, and Zionist leader Max Fisher was also remembered with a cornerstone laid in his memory at the Ayalim Student Village. A global campaign spearheaded by Jewish communities in Europe and North and South America sent Gilad Shalit postcards, via the Red Cross. Two Bar Mitzvah boys from New York gave a year of tennis lessons to young Ethiopian immigrants, On the Wings of Eagles toured Israel, American yogis visited Ofakim, and the largest body of Hazzanim in the world filled Israel with song. 
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In 2008, the year Israel celebrated 60, the Jewish Agency continued to actively assist the citizens of Israel, despite the economic turndown. This was only possible thanks to the generous support of our partners, the United Jewish Communities, Jewish Federations across North America and Keren Hayesod. The year ended with the Jewish Agency working around the clock to assist Israel’s southern region which had come under attack. More