“Finding Your Share” International Conference: Roundup Day 1
We were pleased to welcome more than 100 of our friends and supporters from around the world as they joined us in Jerusalem for our “Reinventing Jerusalem, Finding Your Share” conference, celebrating 70 years since the establishment of the State of Israel.
Guests from the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Russia, Germany and Liechtenstein started out at the Max Rayne Hand in Hand School where we laid a cornerstone for a new high school building, together with Ambassador of Switzerland. For nearly 20 years, the school has been a bastion of shared living, where Jews and Arabs learn together, taught by both Arabic-speaking and Hebrew-speaking teachers. The school has more than 700 students, the waiting list for matriculation has grown every year and the high school building is a long-awaited addition that will make room for additional growth.
“The new high school building is a Jerusalem landmark, a testament to shared living and hope in the city,” said Jerusalem Foundation President Shai Doron.
Participants joined in a festive evening at Mishkenot Sha’ananim’s Windmill complex. Thanks to our partners (the Jerusalem Municipality, the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, the Jerusalem Development Authority, Christians for Israel Holland and IDB), the Windmill recently underwent a rejuvenation that transformed it into a vibrant tourist attraction.
The complex offers wine tasting seminars by Jerusalem’s only winery, the Jerusalem Vineyard Winery. Visitors can enjoy an outdoor Escape Park to experience all aspects of Mishkenot Sha’ananim, and can attend seminars to learn the unspoken language of windmill blades. A beautifully renovated deck and coffee house, an augmented reality experience and much more is now available at the Windmill.
Dinner was served at the Kings of Spain Terrace overlooking the Old City Walls, as the Jerusalem Foundation’s friends worldwide bid farewell to our former President Yohanna Arbib-Perugia and welcomed our new President, Shai Doron
For pictures of this day’s events, click here. Photo credit: Perry Mendelboym
Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow!