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PROJECT INTERCHANGE MARCH BULLETIN Check out the new look of our website. You can find new photos, information and travelogues from current seminars: www.projectinterchange.org. Project Interchange is delighted to congratulate incoming New York Governor David Paterson. Lt. Governor David Paterson participated in our State Officials Seminar, October 2007. Paterson reflected on his experience with Project Interchange in Israel after the seminar, and was quoted in the JTA article this week. In the Family All our prayers for a fast and full recovery are with Debbie Berger and her family. As the founder of Project Interchange, Debbie Berger has been the engine behind Project Interchange throughout its existence.
Project Interchange extends its heartfelt condolences to the family of Marcella Brenner. As she lived an inspiringly full life and touched so many individuals up until her death, her passing is an immeasurable loss. Her passion for, and involvement in, Project Interchange since its inception has significant and lasting impact on the organization, Marcella will be most remembered through the seminar for Rhodes Scholars, which she envisioned and underwrote.
Current Seminars ARGENTINEAN LEADERS (March 5-12, 2008) This program is an historic first for Project Interchange in that the majority of sessions are in Spanish. In collaboration with AJC’s Latin American and Latino Affairs Institute and the Jewish Community of Argentina (AMIA), this seminar group includes Ministers for Inter-religious affairs and Interior Security, National Congressmen, a media entrepreneur and AMIA leadership. Participants will join with visiting members of AJC’s Board of Governors for an informal dinner and discussion, and for a briefing with Foreign Minister of Israel, Tzipi Livni. RHODES SCHOLARS (March 10-18, 2008) Fourteen current Rhodes Scholars from across the U.S. and a range of disciplines are participating in this seventh annual seminar. The interview process this year included the participation of several Project Interchange board members, including the late Marcella Brenner. In Israel, the group will tackle complex issues in politics, human rights, and majority/minority rights; they will explore diverse perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli culture and development, and the political relationship between Israel, the U.S. and the greater international community. You can read their reactions to the seminar on our travelogue: http://www.projectinterchange.org/plog. Recent Seminars SCANDINAVIAN LEADERSHIP (February 9-16, 2008) In collaboration with AJC’s Thanks to Scandinavia, Project Interchange developed a seminar for political and opinion leaders including representatives from Sweden’s Moderate and People’s Party, Norway’s Conservative and Christian Democratic Parties, the Green Party of Finland and the European Liberal Democratic and Reform Party, and the EU Advisor to Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre Party). Editors from five of the region’s largest and most influential papers and journals, and one of Danish television’s most respected correspondents on Middle Eastern affairs also participated.
The group especially appreciated the view of the Gaza lookout point, a discussion with Holocaust educator Rachel Korazim about the place of the Holocaust in Israeli society, and a session about Arab women’seducation with Dalia Fadila at Al-Qasemi College. PROTESTANT LEADERS (February 23-March 4, 2008) This seminar focused on the challenges to interfaith relations in Israel and examined the role of religion in the country. Participants learned about the role Judaism plays in Israeli society and met with leading Christian, Muslim, and Jewish clergy focused on the protection of holy sights in Jerusalem.
Likewise, the status of Christians in the Palestinian Authority was another difficult issue presented to the group. The program included visits to Augusta Victoria Hospital and Hadassah to discuss medical cooperation in wartime. Returning deeply impacted by their visit, some posted their personal reflections on the Project Interchange travelogue and in their own personal blogs. LEADERSHIP OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE (NMHAAC) (December 30, 2007-January 7, 2008) The Belfer Center for American Pluralism and Project Interchange used Israel’s approach to creating and building museums that convey the historical and societal experiences of the Jewish people and the development of the state of Israel, especially given the challenge of working with a limited number of artifacts which tell the story, to inform the leadership of the NMAAHC which shares similar challenges in their museum development.
In Israel, the participants met with chief curators, archivists, educators and fundraisers of several museums. The participants, all leaders in the African American community, also explored issues more typical of PI seminars like Israel’s politics, security, and economy. Director of AJC’s Belfer Center for American Pluralism, Ann Schaffer, accompanied the group, and was interviewed by Ken Bandler for the AJC website. AMERICAN MUSLIM LEADERS (January 5-11, 2008) Project Interchange, in cooperation with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and America’s Voices in Israel, organized a seminar for moderate American Muslim leaders. These Muslim reformers, including academics, homeland security experts, writers, and publishers, met with Israeli leaders, including MK Ami Ayalon (Labor) and MK Yuli-Yoel Edelstein (Likud), Former Chief of Staff Gen. Moshe Yaalon, and Head of the Israel Supreme Sharia Court, Qadi Ahmed Natour. The seminar received wide attention from the Israeli media—one of the participants, Tawfik Hamid, was interviewed by leading TV shows, Kol Israel radio and the Jerusalem Post.Participant Vehbi Bajrami, publisher of the Albanian paper Illyria, has spotlighted Israel in its last three issues. PACIFIC ISLAND REPRESENTATIVES TO THE UNITED NATIONS (January 4-12, 2008) Project Interchange sponsored a seminar for the Permanent Representatives from Pacific Island states including Vanuatu, Palau, Samoa, Nauru, Micronesia, Fiji Islands, Marshall Islands, and Tonga. Representative Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and Global Environment, accompanied this group. The Pacific Island leaders met with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Former Supreme Court Justice Dalia Dorner, and Knesset members Avishay Braverman (Labor) and Gideon Saar (Likud). On their last night in Israel, the Honorary Counsel for the Marshall Islands hosted the Pacific Island leaders for a reception and dinner including Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Minister of Housing and Construction Ze’ev Boim (Kadima), Knesset Committee Chair on Foreign and Defense Affairs Tzachi Hanegbi (Kadima) and Israel’s first lady of stage and film Gila Almagor and her husband Yaakov Agmon, director of Israel’s national Habima Theater. PI and AJC are now working with these Pacific Island leaders and the Israeli Foreign Ministry to explore project development in aquaculture and water management. Nisha Shrier, director of International Programs participated in a follow-up meeting hosted by Israeli UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman (see International Alumni Programs). U.S. Alumni Programs UNDERSTANDING IRAN Dr. Trita Parsi, president, National Iranian American Council spoke about “Iran, Israel, and the United States: Public Opinion and Politics” in a conference call for alumni on Monday, March 3rd. Dr. Parsi is the author of Treacherous Alliance- Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the US (Yale University Press, 2007) which discusses Israeli-Iranian relations over the last 50 years and their impact on US policies and America’s standing in the Middle East. Ambassador Aaron Jacob, deputy director of the AJC Office of Government and International Affairs was the respondent for the discussion that touched on several important issues. The next call in our new “First Mondays Conference Call Series” is planned for Monday, April 7th. More information will be forthcoming. IMMIGRATION AND INTEGRATION IN ISRAEL: LESSONS LEARNED AND CHALLENGES AHEAD This most engaging session, the second of Project Interchange’s Alumni Roundtable Series in Washington DC, was held March 3rd. Facilitated by AJC Washington DC Chapter Executive Director, Melanie Maron, alumni heard from Maxyne Finkestein, Jewish Agency CEO for North America; Tova Grushko, a Russian immigrant to Israel; and Itzik Dessie, an Ethiopian immigrant to Israel, about their experiences, challenges, and activities in their hyphenated-Israeli communities. PI RECEPTION AT OXFORD RHODES HOUSE On February 7, six participants in the 2007 Rhodes Scholars seminar in Israel joined with all the 2008 Rhodes Scholars participants for a pre-departure reception at Rhodes House in Oxford. Dr. Emanuele Ottolenghi, executive director of the Transatlantic Institute based in Brussels, and a former Oxford professor, led an orientation session that preceded this reception. International Alumni Programs UN MEETINGS On February 28, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N., Dan Gillerman, hosted a breakfast for members of the delegation of Pacific Island Representatives to the U.N. to hear about their visit to Israel. It was a warm and collegial meeting with an emphasis on how to extend opportunities for better diplomatic engagement and economic investment in the Pacific Island region.
Project Interchange contributed to a State Department forum on the impact of the seminar in Israel and implications for investment in the Pacific Island region on issues such as diabetes education and prevention, water technology, and cooperation between the US and Israel to further projects in these island states. The forum was hosted by Glyn Davies, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, and Ambassador Richard Schifter. The UN Ambassadors from Micronesia and Samoa requested meetings with Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Sallai Meridor to discuss the impact of the PI trip and enhance their relationships. INDIA A session is scheduled for early April in New Delhi, where participants will share their experiences in Israel relating, in particular, to interfaith issues. Israel’s Ambassador to Israel, Mark Sofer, will attend as well as Maulana Jameel Ilyasi, president of All India Imam Organisation, who was unable to participate in last year’s Indian Muslim seminar but who has since visited Israel with AJC. He is also planning to follow up on his trip by speaking to ambassadors of Muslim countries about his experience in Israel. EUROPE On April 3, 2008, Project Interchange will host a reunion in Madrid for alumni of our Spanish Counterterrorism Experts seminar. Last week, Dina Siegel Vann, director of AJC's Latino and Latin American Institute, traveled to Spain and met with journalists who visited Israel with Project Interchange. On February 2, Project Interchange hosted a joint orientation/alumni event for Chilean alumni of our seminars and Argentinean prospective participants. On December 17, 2007, nearly fifty alumni, journalists, and other interested individuals came together for a lunch reunion in Athens with the Israeli Ambassador to Greece. The program quickly became a dialogue with the Ambassador about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the situation of Israeli-Arabs.
Valerie Hoffenberg, director of the AJC Paris office has been in regular contact with participants in the November 2007 French Members of Parliament seminar in Israel, partially funded by Project Interchange Lisa Billig, director of the AJC Rome office, is organizing a press conference in response to the debate over inviting Israeli writers to the International Book Fair in Turin, Italy. Project Interchange alumni are expected to participate. Steen Caden, Thanks To Scandinavia and PI Scandinavian liaison, met with Bashy Quraishy, participant in PI’s 2006 Immigration and Integration Experts seminar from Denmark. Alumni Activity
Buddy Cunanan (2007 Philippines Seminar), journalist and contributing editor for Travelife, the first locally-published and written travel and lifestyle magazine in the Philippines wrote a six page spotlight on Jerusalem based on his experience there.
Jean-François Copé, Claude Goasguen, and Philippe Meunier (2007 French Members of Parliament), leaders in the French Parliament have given numerous television and newspaper interviews.
Based on their meetings in Israel, both Jacques Kossowski and Claude Goasguen (2007 French Members of Parliament) posed questions about the French relationship with Israel to Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
Tribune Juive, a major French monthly Jewish magazine, quoted Valerie Hoffenberg, director of AJC's Paris office, and several participants in the seminar for French Members of Parliament about their recent visit to Israel. Jeppe Duvaa (2005 Scandinavian Seminar), editorial writer from Denmark, shared his experiences on his PI seminar with Thomas Larsen, a member of this year’s Scandinavian Leadership delegation (in Israel Feb. 9-16, 2008). Participants in the 2007 University Presidents seminar have written prolifically, examined opportunities for research and faculty exchange and spoken widely about their experiences in Israel. Among other activities, Chancellor Richard Herman (UI—Urbana-Champaign) delivered an address to the University Club of Chicago entitled “Lest We Forget” where he spoke about the deep impact of his visit to Israel. Chancellor Mark Yudof (UT System), returning for the second year as co-host of this seminar, met with members of Texas Hillel to stress the importance of reducing restrictions to study abroad in Israel. Rice University’s President David Leebron enthusiastically greeted the opportunity of hosting an Israeli scholar as part of the Schusterman Visiting Professors program. In addition, his wife, Ping Sun, an attorney who participated last year, recommended a subsequent participant in Project Interchange’s Asian American Leaders seminar to December 2-10, 2007. President Ricardo Romo (UT-San Antonio) presented his experience at a university program, “The Great Conversation.” UC-San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox addressed the Orange County Synagogue during Yom Kippur services.
2008 Student Body Presidents Seminar Alumni Dustin Leftridge (UMontana—Missoula), Emma Olson (UMinn), and Dan Sadowski (Drake U), attended PI’s 25th Anniversary Symposium. Tegan Molloy (Montana State U) organized an “Israel Night” where she showcased a slideshow of her trip for fellow students, community members, and representatives from the administration (including the president of the university) and served Israeli food. Spencer Pearson (Univ. of Utah) has relied on his positive Israel experience to convince the university’s legislative branch and other elected student officials of the immense benefits to offering study abroad opportunities. Tyler Hauger (St. Olaf College) facilitated a large discussion based on his observations and experiences in Israel during St. Olaf’s “Global Issues Dialogue” in November. Peter McChesney (Utah State Univ.) edited the film he shot in Israel for a movie he has shown to diverse groups of people.
Chair of the Subcommittee that oversees U.S. foreign policies affecting Pacific Island nations, Congressman Eni Faleomavaega (D – American Samoa) discussed the success of the Pacific Island Representatives seminar in a press release. Several other articles were written, covering the delegation in Israel.
Endy M. Bayuni (2007 Indonesian Journalists), Chief Editor of the Jakarta Post, wrote “Peres Sees Mideast Peace within 5 Years” after returning from the seminar. Articles of Interest "U.S. "road map" assessment seen critical of Israel" 11 March 2008 Reuters By Adam Entous “Forward from Gaza: How the U.S. Can Lead” (http://middleeastprogress.org/?p=2197) 5 March 2008 Middle East Progress Interview with Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer “Deterrence, Missile Defense, and Collateral Damage in the Iranian-Israeli Strategic Relationship” (http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?pubID=854) 5 February 2008 Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College By Dr. W. Andrew Terrill Please email Doria (goldd@projectinterchange.org) with any questions, comments, or suggestions on how to improve this bulletin. |
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