CURRICULUM STUDENT TRIP SEPTEMBER 2012
Disclaimer: Sensitivity to cultural and religious practice and observance is a strong value of OTI. Any religious sites or events listed on the curriculum are meant for educational purposes only. All participants (students, faculty, staff) are provided opportunities to observe their own religious practices during the trip, including but not limited to prayer service (e.g. Friday prayers); consumption or avoidance of specific foods; observance of Sabbath or other holidays.
Monday - September 3rd: Flight to Washington DC • 6:03 am Leave LAX • 1:56 pm Arrival in Washington Dulles (IAD) • 3:00 pm Pick-up from Airport by bus, drive to Washington DC • 4:00 pm Check in Hotel (Sheraton Pentagon City, Washington D.C.) • 5:45 pm Leave with taxis to MLK memorial • 6:00 pm TOUR of Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial with UCI Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs Thomas Parham • 7:00 pm Dinner with Adriel Borshansky and Student Leaders of Seeds of Peace
Tuesday – September 4th: Washington DC • 9:30 am MEETING at the Hotel with Jeff Helsing (Dean of Curriculum, United States Institute of Peace) • 11:00 am MEETING with Robert Malley (Former Senior White House Advisor) at the International Crisis Group offices • 12:30 pm LUNCH with experts David Makovsky (the Ziegler distinguished fellow and director of the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy on the Middle East Peace Project) and Ghaith Al-Omari (American Task Force for Palestine) at HOTEL • 2:30 pm Meeting with Retired Ambassador Dennis Ross (Former Middle East Negotiator) at HOTEL • 4:00 pm MEETING with US State Department Special Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Pandith, and Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Hannah Rosenthal about 2011 Hours Against Hate Campaign at Department of State. • 5:00 pm MEETING with Kevin Kreutner and Margarita Pickett (US State Department Officers of the Israeli-Palestinian Affairs Office) at Department of State. • 6:30 pm Dinner with Dr. Wesley Reisser (State Department Official, Middle East and Human Rights Specialist) at Agora Restaurant
Wednesday - September 5th: Washington DC and Flight to Tel Aviv • 9:00 am REFLECTION • 10:00 am Leave for Washington Reagan Airport (DCA) • 12:45 pm Depart DCA to Toronto with Air Canada • 2:09 pm Arrives in Toronto • 4:00 pm MIDDLE EAST BRIEFING • 5:45 pm Leaves for Tel Aviv
Thursday - September 6th: Jerusalem/Bethlehem • 11:45 am Arrival in Ben-Gurion Airport • 2 pm Travel to Tel Aviv • 3 pm MEETING/Briefing with Yarden Leal (Director, Development and External Relations Department, Peres Center for Peace) at Leonardo Basel Hotel (Tel Aviv) • 4:30 pm Leaving for Bethlehem • 6 pm Check in Hotel in Bethlehem (Nativity Bells) plus freshen up • 8:00 pm DINNER with Dabke Dancing at Tent Restaurant with Bethlehem students (Bethlehem University) and community members
Friday – September 7th: Hebron and Jerusalem • 8:00 am TRAVEL to Hebron • 9:00 am TALK and TOUR with David Wilder (Spokesperson Jewish Community) • 11:00 am Visit Tomb of the Patriarchs • 11:30 am TALK and TOUR of Hebron City Center with Walid S. Abu-Alhalaweh (PR Director, Hebron Rehabilitation Committee) with following walk-through city - OPTION for Muslim Friday Prayers • 1:30 pm Leave Hebron for Bethlehem • 1:30 pm LUNCH in Bethlehem • 2:30 pm Leave Bethlehem for Jerusalem • 3:30 pm Walk Old City (from Damascus Gate –Austrian Hospice – Lutheran Guesthouse) • 4:15 pm REFLECTION at Lutheran Guesthouse • 5:45 pm SHABBAT DINNER & KOTEL EXPERIENCE with Sabbath of a Life Time (split up group to celebrate Sabbath with Wesiberg, Neril, and Gross family)
Saturday - September 8th: Bethlehem • 8:30 am TOUR of Old Town Bethlehem (Church of Nativity, Mosque of Omar) • 11:30 am MEETING with Victor Batarseh (Mayor of Bethlehem) • 1:00 pm LUNCH and TALK with Zoughbi Zoughbi (director of Wi’am – Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center) • 3:30 pm Tour of Aida Refugee Camp • 4:30 pm TALK with Prof. Mazin Qumsiyeh (Bethlehem University) and Abdelfattah Abusrour (Alrowwad General Manager) at Alrowwad Center in Aida Refugee Camp • 6:00 pm REFLECTION at hotel • 8:00 pm DINNER with Families in Bethlehem (split up group)
Sunday - September 9th: Bi’lin, Ariel and Haifa • 8:00 am Leave Bethlehem • 9:00 am MEETING with Iyad Burnat (Chairman, Bi’lin Popular Committee Against the War & Settlements) plus walking tour of weekly demonstration area • 12:00 pm Leaving for Ariel • 1:00 pm LUNCH in Ariel • 2:00 pm TOUR and TALK of Ariel with Avi Zimmerman (Director, American Friends of Ariel) • 3:00 pm TALK with factory manager Yehuda (factory, Ariel Industrial Park), tour of company and TALK with Abed (Palestinian worker in the factory) • 4:30 pm MEETING with Ariel University Students • 5:30 pm TALK with Yigal Cohen-Orgad (former Israeli Minister of Finance, Chancellor Ariel University Center of Samaria) • 6:00 pm Leave for Haifa • 7:30 pm Arrival in Haifa and Check in German Colony Hotel • 8:00 pm Group Dinner with REFLECTION
Monday - September 10th: Haifa • 8:00 am Leave hotel • 8:30 am Bahai Garden Visit • 9:30 am TALK with Professor Sammy Smooha (Professor of Sociology, Haifa University) • 10:30 am Leave Haifa University • 11:00 am MEETING with Professor Daniel Orenstein (Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning, Technion), Dr. Gonen Sagy (Head Coordinator, The Youth Environmental Education & Peace Initiative, Arava Institute), Uri Nusinow (Director, Arava Consulting and Technology) and YEEPI Leaders (Arava Institute alumni taking part in peace and environment activities) at Technion • 12:30 noon Leave for Maxim • 1:00 pm LUNCH at Maxim restaurant in Haifa, a joint Arab-Israeli owned restaurant attacked by suicide bomber, TALK with Tony Mattar (co-owner) • 2:15 pm Leave for cemetery • 2:30 pm TOUR of terror victim burial site (near Haifa) with Ron Kehrmann, whose daughter died in a suicide attack on a Bus in Haifa • 3:30 pm Drive to Kibbutz Ramat Yochanan • 5:00 pm TOUR of Kibbutz with Ido Shelem (CEO and Founder, Bridge to the Future) • 6:00 pm DISCUSSION with different generations of Kibbutzniks (Kibbutz residents) • 7:00 pm Leave for hotel • 7:30 pm REFLECTION followed by FREE EVENING
Tuesday- September 11th: Travel to Jordan • 7:00 am TRAVEL to Border • 8:00 am CROSSING to Jordan through Sheikh Hussein Crossing (3 hours) • 11:00 am Travel to Dead Sea • 12:00 noon Lunch at Dead Sea • 1:00 pm Spending RELAXING TIME at the Dead Sea • 5:00 pm Travel to Amman • 6:00 pm Check into Hotel in Amman (Imperial Palace Hotel) • 7:30 pm TALK with Hisham Majali • 10:00 pm (optional) Nightlife experience
Wednesday - September 12th: Jordan • 9:00 am TOUR of Amman with driving through Wehdat Refugee Camp • 11:30 am MEETING with HRH Prince El-Hassan bin Talaal (brother of King Hussein and former Crown-Prince), Adnan Badran (former Jordanian prime minister) and Professor Kamel Abu Jaber (former Jordanian minister of foreign affairs and director of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies) at Amman’s Al-Hussein Cultural Center • 2:30 pm LUNCH at Alayasel Equestrian Club • 4:30 pm PANEL DISCUSSION on reforms in Jordan with Ola Al-Masri (President Rotary Club of Armaan), Haifa Haffar Najjar (Senator in the Jordanian Senate) and Dr. Omar Al Basheer (Founder and Managing Partner, Applied Solutions & Knowledge Management Experts) • 6:00 pm TALK by Nura Sharrab (UNRWA representative) • 7:00 pm REFLECTION • 8:30 pm DINNER
Thursday - September 13th: Jordan/Nazareth • 9:00 am VISIT of Horse Show at the Amman Royal Stables • 11:00 am Leave Amman • 1:00 pm Cross border at Sheikh Hussein Bridge (North) (3.5 hours) • 4:30 pm Travel to Nazareth • 6:00 pm Check into Hotel in Nazareth (Golden Crown City Center) • 7:00 pm DINNER in Nazareth with Afifi family members • 9:30 pm Going out in Nazareth (optional)
Friday - September 14th: Jenin and Nazareth • 8:00 am TRAVEL to Jenin • 9:30 am TALK with Mohammad Sayyed (Popular Committee of Service – Jenin Camp) and Mohammad Sbiehat (Fatah Higher Council member, Jenin) • 10:30 am TOUR of refugee camp • 11:00 am TALK at Freedom Theater with Jonathan Stanczak (Managing Director) ◦ OPTION for Muslim Friday prayers • 12:00 noon LUNCH with Women Cooperative and TALK by Um Emad Abu-Zahra (director) who lost her son Emad Subhi Abu-Zahra (journalist) in an IDF incursion into Jenin • 2:00 pm Depart for Nazareth • 3:00 pm Nazareth City Tour • 4:00 pm REFLECTION at hotel • FREE EVENING (option for Shabbat dinner)
Saturday – September 15th: Tour of Golan and Nazareth • OPTIONAL • 9:00 am Depart for TOUR of Galilee and Golan with Colonel (ret.) Ron Schatzberg o Visit Majdal Shams (Druze village) – TALK by Dr. Taiseer Maray (general director, Golan for Development). ◦ Visit Christian Sites in the Galilee ◦ Talk with IDF Soldier Josh Wolf • 6:00 pm MEETING with Mohammad Darwashe (Co-executive director, Abraham Fund Initiatives) at hotel • 7:00 pm TALK by Abouna Antonious (Priest, Coptic Orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth) • 7:30 pm REFLECTION followed by dinner
Sunday - September 16th: Jerusalem • 9:00 am Leave for Jerusalem • 11:30 pm Arrival in Jerusalem with check-in to Lutheran Guesthouse • 1 pm OLD CITY TOUR of all quarters • 4 pm MEETING with Dr. Samuel Lebens (Modern Orthodox Educator and Jewish Philosophy teacher, Yeshivat Har’el) • 7:00 pm Rosh Hashanah Celebration at Lutheran Guesthouse (and tour of Kotel)
Monday – September 17th Old City (Rosh Hashanah – students can spend time with family) • OPTIONAL Attending religious services: ◦ Kehilat Har-El (Reform) - 9:30am-12:30pm ◦ Kehilat Kol HaNeshama (Reform) - 9:15am- 12:30pm ◦ Kehilat Kedem (Conservative) 8:00am-12:30pm
Tuesday – September 18th Old City (Rosh Hashanah – students can spend time with family) • OPTIONAL Attending religious services • OPTIONAL Walking-tour of West Jerusalem • OPTIONAL Visit of Nablus with MEETING Munib R. Masri (businessman, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and former Jordanian Cabinet Minister) at his home in Nablus and Old City Tour of Nablus (look at Welfare reconstruction project) • 8 pm Dinner with students from Hebrew University
Wednesday – September 19th Ramallah • 8:00 am Move hotel to Gloria Hotel (Old City) • 10:00 am TRAVEL to Ramallah • 11:00 am TALK with Dr. Husam Zomlot (Exec. Deputy Commissioner, Fatah Commission for International Relations) • 12:30 am LUNCH at TOUR of Birzeit University with students and faculty • 2:30 pm VISIT Rawabi with TOUR by Nisreen Shahin (Executive Director, Rawabi Foundation) and TALK by Bashar al-Masri (chairman and CEO, Massar International – Rawabi development company) • 4:30 pm MEETING with Xavier Abu Eid (Communication Advisor, PLO Negotiation Support Unit) at their offices • 6:00 pm TOUR of Ramallah (downtown) • 7:00 pm DINNER in Ramallah • 10:00 pm Leave for Jerusalem (reflection on bus)
Thursday - September 20th: Jerusalem • 8:00 am Leave for Yad Vashem • 8:30 am TOUR of Yad Vashem – Holocaust Memorial • 12:00 LUNCH • 1:00 pm MEETING with Mark Regev (spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister) at hotel • 3:00 pm STRATEGIC TOUR with Danny Tirza (architect of the barrier between Israel and the West Bank) • 5:30 pm TOUR with B’Tselem of barrier and East-Jerusalem and TALK by Jessica Montell (Executive Director) and Kareem Issa Jubran (Fieldwork Director) • 8:00 pm REFLECTION at hotel with Dinner
Friday - September 21st: Gaza/Sderot and Tel Aviv ------Program was changed because of security situation in South Israel ------• 8:30 am MEETING with Professor Gerald Steinberg (President, NGO Monitor, Professor of Political Science Bar Ilan University) and Itai Reuveni (Israel Affairs) • 9:30 am Leave Jerusalem for Tel Aviv • 11:30 am Check-in Leonardo Basel Hotel • 12:30 am TALK with Noam Bedein (Director, Sderot Media Center) at hotel • 1:30 pm LUNCH BREAK • 3:00 pm MEETING with MK Dr. Einat Wilf (Independence Party) • 4:30 pm TALK with Gidi Grinstein (President and Founder, Reut Institute) at hotel • 5:30 pm REFLECTION • 6:30 pm FREE EVENING (optional Shabbat service)
Saturday – September 22nd: Tel Aviv • FREE MORNING DAY • 2 pm LUNCH at hotel • OPTIONAL AFTEROON MEETINGS • 4:00 pm MEETING with COGAT IDF Commanders Adam Avidan and Aliza Landes • 5:00 pm TALK with Professor Galia Golan (Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC), founder/member Peace Now, Meretz Party Executive) • 6:00 pm TALK with Ronny Edry (“Israel loves Iran” Campaign) • OPTIONAL Experience Tel Aviv nightlife
Sunday - September 23rd: Tel Aviv • 9:00 am TALK with Antonio Galli (Access Coordinator, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) • 11:00 am TALK with Dr. Yossi Beilin (former MK and Israeli justice minister) at hotel • 1:00 pm LUNCH • 2:00 pm TALK with Gilead Sher (former Israeli Chief Negotiator) at hotel • 4:00 pm DEBRIEFING with Yarden Leal (Director, Development and External Relations Department, Peres Center for Peace) at the Peres Center for Peace (Jaffa) • 6:00 pm MEETING with Rami Elhanan and Mazem Faraj (Parents Circle/ Families Forum) • 7:30 pm FINAL REFLECTION – NEXT STEPS • 9:00 pm GOODBYE DINNER
Monday - September 24th: Tel Aviv • 7:30 am Breakfast • 8:30 am Leave for airport • 9:00 am Arrive at airport for flight back to US