UJC/JCPA and JLC Israel Institute for Labor Leaders June 21-28, 2007

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1 Day One: Thursday, June 21, 2007 UJC/JCPA and JLC Israel Institute for Labor Leaders June 21-28, :15 pm Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport on flight LY002 2:30 pm Depart for Jerusalem 3:30 pm View the city of Jerusalem from the Haas Promenade. We recite the Shehecheyanu, the blessing of thanksgiving, upon reaching the city. Together with your group, recite these words of praise and drink l chaim, to life, to mark this unforgettable place and time in your journey through Israel. Meet with Daniel Rossing, Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations, topic: Jerusalem the city of the betweens Check in hotel 7:30 pm Dinner at hotel with Hanna Siniora, Co-CEO, Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information and Publisher of the Jerusalem Times a weekly English newspaper, and with journalist Bradley Burston, Ha'aretz Daily, to hear from them about the current situation. 1

2 Day Two: Friday, June 22, :00 am followed by briefing with Efraim Kaye, Holocaust Scholar and Director, International Seminars for Educators in English and the Jewish World at the Yad Vashem International School for Holocaust Studies, topic: "The uniqueness of the holocaust, holocaust denial and the Holocaust as a formative element of the state of Israel". 8:30 am Depart for Yad Vashem 9:00 am A solemn time is spent at Yad Vashem, Israel s national Holocaust memorial. The new museum presents state-of-the-art exhibits and the story of the Shoah from the perspective of the individuals, through original artifacts, survivor testimonies and personal possessions, presented in a multi-sensory experience. The dramatic structure, designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie, cuts through the mountain in the form of a spike, with its uppermost edge protruding through the mountain ridge. We will also visit Yad LaYeled, the chilling memorial to the one and a half million children who perished during the Shoah. 1:00 pm Lunch and shopping on Ben Yehuda Street 2:00 pm Seam line tour with Scholar Avi Melamed. Depart for a special tour of Jerusalem and view neighborhoods on the Seam line, with special emphasis on Gilo and Armon Hanatziv neighborhoods, which have been the scene of recent conflict with the Palestinian Authority. 4:00 pm Visit the Holy Sepulcher, situated on the hill called Golgotha or Calvary. The Church contains the last five Stations of the Cross including the sites of Jesus' crucifixion and burial. Several Christian denominations claim ownership to various parts of the site so holy to Christendom. "Via Dolorosa" or "Via Crucis" designates a stretch of road between the Antonia fortress and Golgotha, along which Jesus walked bowed under the weight of the Cross. The name dates from the sixteenth century, although the custom of retracing Jesus' steps to Golgotha began in the early centuries of Christianity. According to the most common tradition, the Antonia fortress and the Praetorium nearby were the sites where Jesus was brought before Pilate. The fortress, which stood near the north- west corner of the Jewish Temple, was the starting point for Jesus' painful walk toward Calvary, which at that time was outside the city walls. 2

3 We will stop at the Western Wall, a section of the defense rampart that encircled the Temple Court in ancient times and only remnant of the Temple built by Herod the Great. The Western Wall is the most revered holy site in Judaism. 7:08 pm Shabbat starts 8:00 pm Shabbat dinner in a private room with Stuart Schoffman, Associate Editor and Columnist at the Jerusalem Report topic, "Life in Jerusalem in particular and in Israel in general". Take part in this celebratory evening of food, ritual and song symbolizing the joy and special indulgences of the Day of Rest and the continuation of the Jewish people s age-old traditions. 3

4 Day Three: Saturday, June 23, :00 am Drive south to Lakiya 9:30 am Learn about the Bedouin Sector and the challenges in improving their situation with Vivian Silver, General Director of Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development (NISPED) and meet with local residents as follows: - Introduction to the Bedouins and AJEEC projects (Arab-Jewish Center for Equality, Empowerment and Cooperation). - Visit and learn about the desert embroidery project, run by the Association for the Improvement of Women's Statues in Lakiya. - Continue to Al-Sayid, unrecognized village; view Bedouin volunteers at work with the local community. 12:30 pm Continue to Dead Sea via Arad Lunch and swim at the Hod Hotel At 1,300 feet below sea level, the Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth. But you can make this visit a high point by venturing into the waters for a float, swimming suspended by the high concentrations of salts and minerals. Return to Jerusalem 8:30 pm Shabbat ends Meet with Amnon Hadary, Author and Editor, at your hotel, topic: "Foundational Myths The interplay of culture and reality in Israel". With the end of Shabbat, Jerusalem comes alive, and it s all yours to explore. Head downtown for a stroll along the shops and cafe sי of the Ben Yehuda and Yoel Solomon pedestrian malls. Discover the trendy German Colony, crowded with Jerusalemites out to dine, or find a new corner of the city and make it your own. Dinner on own 4

5 Day Four: Sunday, June 24, :30 am Depart hotel for Tel Aviv 10:30 am Meeting with the Histadrut leadership. Gershon Gelman, Chairman, Tel Aviv-Jaffa Regional Labor Council, Ami Cohen, Senior Economic Advisor to the Histadrut Chairman, Avital Shapiro, Director of International Activity, The Histadrut International Department. Noon Lunch at Israeli Mall. 2:00 pm Visit Rabin Center and meet with Dalia Rabin, International Chairperson, American Friends of the Yitzhak Rabin Center. The Yitzhak Rabin Center is a not-for-profit institution functioning as a living and active memorial to the life and values important to Yitzhak Rabin - democracy, tolerance, social responsibility and peace - and a place where the lessons of the past will be applied through education of Israel s future generations. The Center was established by Knesset decree to commemorate the life and work of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin who was assassinated during his term of office in It focuses on remembering and promoting the ideals that Yitzhak Rabin lived for and ultimately gave his life for ---democracy and tolerance. The Center includes a museum, an educational wing, library and archive and was dedicated in November :00 pm Visit Kav La'Oved a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the rights of the most disadvantaged workers in Israel, primarily: migrant workers, Palestinians from the occupation territories, personnel company employees, and new immigrants. Meet with attorney Yuval Livnat, and with foreign workers. 6:00 pm Depart for Hayarkon Baseball Field in Petach Tikva. Boxed Dinner 7:00 pm Enjoy an evening at the ballpark, as you watch the Petach Tikva Pioneers take on the Modi'in Miracle. Overnight: Nof Ginossar Kibbutz Guest House, Sea of Galilee 5

6 Day Five: Monday, June 25, :00 am 8:00 am Depart Hotel for Haifa. 9:30 am Meet Shlomo Gilboa, Haifa City Council Member, at his office, in the Town Hall. Discuss "Haifa's challenges as an immigration-absorbing city and existence in harmony between Jewish and Arab citizen". 10:30 am Tour of Haifa led by the City Municipality. 12:00 pm Lunch with representative of Haifa's workers council. Visit Haifa port and Industry. Meet trade union activists. 3:00 pm Visit Abba Hushi Absorption center and meet Ethiopian Jews who recently arrived in Israel. 4:30 pm Continue to Givat Haviva. 5:30 pm Tour of Wadi Ara (including Barta'a). 7:30 pm The Kibbutz Ideology and current situation. Meeting at Kibbutz Barkai for dinner and hospitality with members of the kibbutz. Proceed to the Sea of Galilee Overnight: Nof Ginosar Kibbutz Guesthouse, Sea of Galilee 6

7 Day Six: Tuesday, June 26, :30 am Briefing about Israel's northern borders and the current political & military situation by IDF Spokesman Mitch Piltzer. 8:30 am Depart for Mt. of Beatitude. 9:00 am Visit the Mt. of Beatitude. Towering above the Sea of Galilee and offering a magnificent view of that shimmering blue lake, sits the Mount of Beatitudes. In an area overlooking the Sea, Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. Some late traditions of Christianity place this mountain on the area in which Jesus picked his 12 apostles. In the late 1930 s architect Antonio Barluzzi built a graceful gray-andwhite stone sanctuary on the mountaintop. Its octagonal walls commemorate the Eight Beatitudes; each graced with the first words of one of the eight verses. Lovely grounds provide a pastoral atmosphere in which it seems only natural to meditate, pray or sing. 10:00 am Tour of Northern borders with Lebanon and Syria including observation points, Mt. Bental and a boxed lunch in the Golan Mountains. 2:00 pm Proceed to Jerusalem via Nazareth 3:30 pm Nazareth, the town where Jesus was raised, is Israel s largest Arab city and home to both Christians and Muslims. It dwells in proximity to the new Jewish city of Nazareth Ilit. Here we will discuss the complex relations among Israel s diverse ethnic and religious populations. The Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth stands on the site where according to Christian tradition the angel appeared before Mary to announce the birth of Jesus. The Church, recently refurbished and renovated with contributions from Christians all over the world, stands as a star in the Nazareth firmament. 5:30 pm Continue to Jerusalem Evening: Dinner (TBA) 7

8 Day Seven: Wednesday, June 27, :30 am Visit the Temple Mount, a site holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians alike. The Temple Mount is conspicuous whether viewed from the Mount of Olives, or from the Lutheran church tower across from the Holy Sepulcher, or from the Citadel Museum roof. Normally tranquil and peaceful with its park like setting, one would hardly guess that this small parcel of land - less than 50 acres - is the center of the world and the hottest piece of real estate anywhere on earth. Biblically speaking its most exciting history lies yet ahead. Despite the fact or, perhaps, because Judaism considers this the holiest place on earth, it is the third holiest site for Islam. Christianity reveres the spot as being of great historic importance. This area can claim the title of the most controversial spot in the region. 10:00 am Visit the National Labor court in Jerusalem: Meet with Justice Stephen Adler the president of the National Labor court and discuss the defense of labor laws in Israel. 11:30 am Meeting with Mahdi F. Abdul Hadi, Chairman, PASSIA (Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs) 2:45 pm Visit the Knesset and meet with MK Ron Cohen, Meretz-Yachad. 3:30 pm Meet with Mark Regev, Spokesman, Israeli Foreign Ministry Afternoon Free time for shopping and relaxing 8:00 pm Farewell dinner in a private room: At Anna Ticho Beit Ticho was one of the first homes built outside of Jerusalem s Old City walls and provides a fine example of late-19th-century Jerusalem architecture. Take time to admire the building, as well as the beautiful works of Anna Ticho, one of Jerusalem s most famous artists, on display inside. The house served as a residence for Anna and her husband, Dr. Albert Ticho, a wellknown ophthalmologist. It was later used as an eye hospital, and is now a part of the Israel Museum. 8

9 Day Eight: Thursday, June 28, 2007 Early breakfast 7:00 am Depart hotel for Ben Gurion International Airport 11:00 am Return to US on flight LY031 9

NYU ISRAEL EXPERIENCE -

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