Institute Brings University And College Presidents To Israel
Muhlenberg College President Peyton R. Helm will be among several university and college presidents attending the first in a series of Israel Institutes sponsored by The United Jewish Communities (UJC) and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA).Thursday, July 7, 2005 01:59 PM
The Institute will host seven university and college presidents along with one provost in Israel July 11-18. The participants (listed below) will meet with senior Israeli government officials, U.S. diplomats, as well as Palestinian leaders. They will also visit with their counterparts at Israeli universities in Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv.
Helm was nominated by the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley. Muhlenberg College trustee and local businessman Joseph Scheller will also take part in the Institute program. The local federations nominated the Institute’s participants, and will also send community representatives on the trip that comes only weeks before Israel is to begin its disengagement from Gaza and the northern West Bank.
“Participants in this Institute will gain a more complete understanding of the complex challenges facing Israel today,” said JCPA Chair, Marie Abrams who will be leading the trip.
“At this critical time for the future of Israel and efforts to advance prospects for peace, we are especially excited to bring key higher education leaders to meet with Israeli decision-makers, university presidents and ordinary citizens,” Abrams added.
This is the first of three planned Israel Institute trips made possible by UJC’s Israel Emergency Campaign and funding from local Jewish communities. Later this year the JCPA and UJC will host Protestant leaders and leaders from the American Hispanic community on separate institutes.
“These innovative trips to Israel provide the participants with a unique experience that we trust will result in greater understanding for the situation Israelis face and will also stimulate ongoing relationships with their counterparts in Israel,” said Dr. Conrad Giles, who, together with Michael Bohnen, serves as Co-Chair of the UJC/JCPA Israel Institutes program.
Institute participants: President Dawood Farahi, Kean (NJ) University; President Rosanne Runte, Old Dominion (VA) University; President Jon Larson, Ocean County (NJ) College; President Jonathan M. Daube, Manchester (CT) Community College; President Peyton R. Helm, Muhlenberg (PA) College; President Jay McGowan, Bellarmine (KY) University; Provost Robert Gross, Swarthmore (PA) College; and President Jackie Jenkins-Scott, Wheelock (MA) College.
JCPA is the public affairs arm of the organized Jewish community that serves as the national coordinating and advisory body for the 13 national and 123 local agencies comprising the field of Jewish community relations.
