HonestReporting's 13th Israel Conference
May 26 - June 1, 2010
Subject to change based on availability of speakers.
Tuesday, May 25th
 
Check-in to Inbal Hotel. Day at leisure.
 
 
Wednesday, May 26th
 
10:00 am Introductions and Orientation, at the Inbal Hotel.
 
 
Welcome to Jerusalem!
Opening Greetings from the Ministry of Tourism.
 
 
"Behind the Scenes of Honest Reporting" Part I
Joe Hyams, CEO - HonestReporting.com
 
 
1:15 pm "Israel 1948 - 2010",
Amotz Asa-El, President of Business Week, Israel Edition, and a Senior Fellow of the Shalem Center.
 
 
2:30 pm Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser,
Director-General, Ministry of Strategic Affairs
 
 
Bus to MEMRI – Middle East Media Research Institute.
 
 
4:30 pm "Middle East Geo-Politics"
Col. (Res.) Yigal Carmon, President of MEMRI, and former Advisor to Premiers Shamir and Rabin for Countering Terrorism.
 
 
6:30 pm Dinner at 'Noya', an elegant, new meat restaurant, combining the tastes of the French cuisine and the Mediterranean; located in the center of Jerusalem, in an old and fancy building with a magnificent décor.
 
 
Return to Inbal hotel
 
 
Thursday, May 27th
 
6:30-8:15 am Breakfast
Israel is famous for its special hotel breakfast: this is not just any breakfast – it's a banquet! Enjoy a countless selection of cheeses, homemade breads, juices, coffees, fruits, grains, cereals, veggies, fish and more.
 
 
8:15 am "Confrontation on Campus"
Audio/Visual presentation
Patrick Amar, Hasbara Fellowships
 
 
9:15 am "How to Effectively Advocate for Israel"
Neil Lazarus, Director of AwesomeSeminars.com
 
 
11:00 am Bus to Government Press Office
 
 
"The Foreign Media in Israel"
Danny Seaman, Director, Government Press Office.
 
 
12:30 pm Travel to Old City of Jerusalem
 
 
Free time in the Old City, with falafel Lunch overlooking the Temple Mount
 
 
3:40 pm Meet for Tour of the Western Wall Tunnels with Lee Glassman, Tour Guide, Archaelogist and Historian
 
 
6:30 pm Dinner at Sheyan a new Asian and Chinese restaurant; a lovely Asian "retreat", situated in the beautiful windmill complex in the Rehavia neighborhood
 
 
Friday, May 28th
 
8:30 am Meet in lobby of Inbal Hotel
Depart for Hebron & Gush Etzion
 
 
Hebron, Ancient City of the Patriachs, Dealing with Modern Complexities "The Truth; The Myths & The Complexities"”
 
 
Settlements; Communities; Outposts: An inside look at communities over the Green Line.
 
 
Lunch at Gavneh, a hilltop restaurant with a panoramic view with Guest Speaker Shaul Goldstein, Mayor of Gush Etzion
 
 
3:00 pm Return to hotel. Prepare for Shabbat.
 
 
5:15 pm Leave for Old City
 
 
6:00 pm "Getting in to the Shabbat Spirit" with Rabbi Yom Tov Glaser and college students from across America!

Candlelighting (6:57 pm)

Kabbalat Shabbat at the Western Wall
 
 
7:30 pm Optional: "The Beauty of Shabbat" - An anthology of stories & thoughts for Shabbat with Esther Mendelowitz.
 
 
8:15 pm Shabbat Dinner in the Old City overlooking the Western Wall
An authentic, traditional Shabbat experience in the Heart of Jerusalem.
 
 
Walk back to Inbal Hotel (approx 40 minutes).
 
 
Shabbat: Saturday, May 29th
 
8:15 am Optional Shabbat morning services in the beautiful 100-year old synagogue of Yemin Moshe overlooking the walls of Jerusalem, or in other Congregations throughout Jerusalem. (Other options available from hotel Concierge)

Shabbat lunch:Home Hospitality with English-speaking families who now live in Jerusalem
 
 
Buffet-style evening meal in the conference room
 
 
4:30 pm "What Arabs inside Israel are Really Thinking"
Khaled Abu Toameh, Israeli Arab, West Bank and Gaza correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, and the US News and World Report
 
 
6:00 pm "Communicating for Israel"
Putting knowledge into action
Patrick Amar, Hasbara Fellowships
 
 
7:15 pm "Minorities in Israel"
Andre Moubarak, Christian Arab, living in the Old City of Jerusalem. Bringing a different perspective of the historical, cultural, and religious issues of the Middle East
 
 
8:25 pm Havdallah - A short, farewell ceremony to end Shabbat
 
 
Free Evening - time for shopping, and socializing in downtown Jerusalem
 
 
Sunday, May 30th
 
8:00 am Meet in Lobby of Inbal Hotel
Bus to MediaCentral.
 
 
Welcome to MediaCentral, Israel’s premier bureau for Foreign Correspondents.
 
 
8:30 am Media Central: Reaching out to the Press
Aryeh Green, Director
 
 
9:45 am "Ethics in the Field: An Inside Look at the IDF"
IDF Colonel (res.) Ben-Tzion “Bentzi” Gruber
 
 
11:00 am "Behind the Scenes of Honest Reporting" Part II
Joe Hyams, CEO - HonestReporting.com
 
 
12:30 pm Lunch at Café Rimon in downtown Jerusalem with free time for shopping.
 
 
2:30 pm "Myths & Reality in the Refugee Problem"
Dr. Mordechai Kedar a lecturer in Arabic at Bar-Ilan University, also an expert on Israeli Arabs.
 
 
4:15 pm Bus departs for Maale Adumim – Jerusalem suburb or West Bank Settlement?
 
 
5:00 pm Tour of Maale Adumim
Gidon Ariel, English Language Spokesman for Maale Adumim
 
 
6:30 pm Camels, Dinner & Drums in the Judean Desert, Bedouin-style
 
 
Monday, May 31st
 
7:30 am Meet In Lobby of Inbal Hotel
"Threats & Security" Overview, with Elliot Chodof, Military Analyst, IDF Major (res.)
 
 
  • Depart Jerusalem for North via Jordan Valley along the Jordanian Border
  • VIP visit to IDF base for military briefing
  • Discuss West Bank security issues
  • Lunch in the Golan Heights
  • Ascend Mt Ben Tal
  • Naharayim on the Jordanian Border, site of the murder of 7 girls by a Jordanian Border Patrol Soldier, in 1997
  • Topographical overlook from the Kinneret
 
 
Return to Jerusalem. Free evening.
 
 
Tuesday, June 1st
 
10:00 am "NGOs, Human Rights and the Campaign to Demonize Israel"
Professor Gerald Steinberg, President, NGO Monitor
 
 
11:30 am "A Journalist's View"
Caroline Glick, Deputy Managing Editor -The Jerusalem Post
 
 
Light lunch at Inbal Hotel
 
 
Check out for those leaving the hotel today
 
 
2:00 pm Travel to Foreign Office for briefing with:

Danny Ayalon, MK Deputy Foreign Minister, and former Ambassador to the United States of America
 
 
5:00 pm Final Dinner and closing remarks in the gardens of the beautiful Anna Ticho House
 
 
8:15 pm Transfer to airport for those leaving tonight