Art & Culture
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- Written by Silvia G. Golan

An exciting premiere of the documentary film about the Samaritan community by the creator, producer, and director, Moshe Alafi
The exciting premiere of the documentary film about the Samaritan community was held Last night at the Cinematheque in Jerusalem, in the presence of the Samaritan community.
The film: "Samaritans: A Biblical People", was produced, filmed, and created by the producer and director, Moshe Alafi.
A fascinating journey into the cultural world of the modern Samaritan community and their 3,500-year-old traditions. Imperiled by the sparsity of women and the challenges of modern life,
the 850 Samaritans residing on Mt. Gerizim strive to preserve their unique identity before it is too late. Over the course of five years, filmmaker Moshe Alafi was granted a rare insight into this culture,
living between Judaism and Islam. The result is an intimate and compelling insider’s view of the Samaritan struggle against the odds, of their heart-wrenching choices, their joys, and sorrows.
This is part of an extensive and multi-faceted project by Yeshiva University to introduce the Samaritans to a wide and varied audience.

The initiator of the project is Prof. Steven Fine, a professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University in New York, director of the Arch of Titus Digital Restoration project, and of the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies.
Yeshiva University is considered one of the leading universities in the US.
Visit the YU Web site at www.yu.edu
www.facebook.com/YeshivaUniversity
www.youtube.com/yeshivauniversity
www.instagram.com/yeshiva_university
Photo credit: Hanna Taieb
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- Written by Silvia G. Golan

Chanuka - Merry Christmas 2022 and 2023 New Year Greetings
To honored members of the Israel Diplomatic corps and Embassy staff
members of the Government Offices, Cultural, Commercial
and Industrial community in Israel
and to all our www.diplomacy.co.il friends:
As 2023 approaches, we would like to extend our very warmest and best wishes
to you all for a joyous Chanukah / Christmas and Holiday Season
and a Healthy - Happy and Peaceful New Year
Silvia Golan Daniel Schwarz
Steven Aiello
& all the staff of www.diplomacy.co.il

Facebook : Diplomacy Israel & Diplomacy Israel Community / Silvia G. Golan
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Photo Haifa by Lilia Nasonov
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- Written by Silvia Golan

Israel’s second oldest Model UN conference, Tiqvamun 2022, was held on Monday November 14 at the College of Petah Tiqva. Over 300 students from two dozen schools and cities around Israel participated in 10 committees, spent a full day discussing and trying to solve a range of challenging topics, before the awards ceremony recognizing outstanding achievements.
This year was the eighth iteration of the TIQVAMUN conference, from the first one dating back to January 2012. This was its largest one yet, with 350 students, teachers, and staff. This was also the first ever in-person Model UN in Israeli history to incorporate students from grades 4-12 in one conference. The opening ceremony included a welcome from Mrs. Rachel Amrani, Director of the Chen Young Ambassadors program; as well as introductory remarks from the mayor of Petah Tiqva, Mr. Rami Greenberg, and Mr. Nadav Greenberg, political advisor at the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO). At the closing ceremony, students heard from Minister Counsellor, Antonio Millan from the Embassy of Spain, who encouraged the students to keep pursuing academic and intercultural learning opportunities.
The committees included UNDP (on inequalities and SDG 10); Arab League (instability in Iraq); Human Rights (Cancel Culture); ILO (Migrant worker rights); Legal (AIs and Privacy); SPECPOL (conflict in Mali); European Commission (Energy Crisis); UNSCO (Israeli-Palestinian negotiations), US Senate (Abortion rights) and the Humans-Aliens crisis.
Participating schools included: Branco Wesiss Mazkeret Batya; Shoham high; Hand in Hand; Atid Lod High School for Excellence and Scientific Leadership in the Community; QSCHOOLS; Shaked Darca; Al-Andalous Comprehensive School; Salesian Sisters’ School; Iksal high school; Harishonim High School, Haim Hefer elementary school; Krol elementary school; Paul Kor elementary school, along with students from dozen ten schools.
Yana Haj Yahia from Qschools told Diplomacy.co.il that “It was my first Mun conference, it was really a great experience. From what I've seen, attending MUN really makes you feel like a diplomat yourself. I will definitely continue to participate in MUN conferences.”
Maria Marrid from Bashaer high school added that “TiqvaMUN was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. I met new amazing people that now they take such a huge part in my life, we ate, laughed ,danced, singed and had so much fun together
Avigail Ketzenstein from Shaked Darca said that TIQVAMUN “was a place where different people from different worlds who share the same interest could do the thing they loved with respect and kindness to one another.”
Omar Essam Anabusi from Al-Andalous Comprehensive School thanked the TIQVAMUN staff, noting the impact of the conference on the ability of students to communicate in English, and the importance of “involving delegates from different cultural backgrounds”.
Liam Skop, a student in the Chen Young Ambassadors program, said that he “enjoyed expanding my knowledge about the topic of equal rights, and also meeting children my age from other schools who are also interested in international relations and related topics.”
Rom Shitrit, from Paul Kor school shared that “the conference was very interesting, I learned about equal rights in different countries, and about countries I didn’t know about yet, and conflicts between different countries.”
Naomi Fellert, a 6th grade student from Haim Hefer school, who represented Indonesia in the UNDP committee on equal rights, expressed appreciation for all of the organizers of the conference, stating that the conference had been “fun and educational.”
The Krol MUN team said that they had enjoyed learning about new countries and becoming more knowledgeable about the conflict in Iraq, and looked forward to future conferences.
Mrs. Rachel Amrani, Director of the Chen Young Ambassadors school, told Diplomacy.co.il that she was “moved by the experience of seeing hundreds of students participating at TIQVAMUN”, noting that students had represented with dignity dozens of countries from around the world on a range of challenging topics, such as human rights; gender equality; environmental concerns, and regional and global conflicts.”
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31 doctors and paramedics from across the world joined MDA’s 9th International Emergency Services Seminar – at the end of which they will join MDA’s International Unit
31 medical staff from across Europe and North America, senior doctors, hospital directors, surgeons, emergency room managers, anesthesiologists, psychiatrists, Red Cross doctors, emergency medicine experts, rheumatologists and paramedics, all arrived in Israel to join the MDA International Seminar for doctors and paramedics, and will join MDA’s International Unit at the end of the seminar.
During the Seminar that is taking place this week (4 - 9.12.22), the doctors and paramedics from the USA, Canada, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden will undergo 5 intensive days of training, including a multi-casualty incident drill, a joint drill with the Home Front Command, will visit the IDF’s medical unit, MDA’s National Operations Center and the MDA campus in Ramla. As part of the seminar, that is taking place for the first time since the Corona pandemic, the participants will hear lectures and take part in exercises in a variety of fields, and also discuss element of treatment relating to the pandemic.
The 31 participants will also volunteer on MDA ambulances and mobile intensive care units (MICUs), and at the end of the seminar will join MDA’s International Unit. The unit was established in 2007 and the members include hundreds of doctors and paramedics from different countries across the world who came to Israel to receive training with Magen David Adom – and will then be able to return to Israel and help MDA teams in case of need.

“Magen David Adom’s International Unit is one of our flagship projects, bringing together doctors and paramedics from across the world to be active in Israel’s National Rescue Organization,” said Vicki Angel, MDA’s International Unit Project Manager. “The 31 doctors arrived in Israel in order to learn from us. We are very pleased about this and thank them for their good will to help Magen David Adom and the State of Israel.”
MDA Director General Eli Bin: “It is a source of great pride for us that senior physicians, among them surgeons, experts in emergency medicine, psychiatrists, family doctors and anesthesiologists all voluntarily join us in the State of Israel from across the world and undergo training with Magen David Adom. This is of vital importance, as it means that in times of crisis they will be able to return to Israel and assist MDA teams in providing treatment on the front lines.”
Photo credit Zaki Heller / MDA Spokesperson
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- Written by Silvia G. Golan

Yeshiva University Hosted Yesterday Sold-Out Ishay Ribo Concert to Celebrate Sukkot, Israel, and its students
Yeshiva University hosted Yesterday the YU Isru Chag Concert, starring Ishay Ribo, at the International Convention Center (Binyanei Hauma) in Jerusalem.
More than 3,000 people attended the sold-out concert and were visibly moved by Ishay Ribo’s ability to distill the poetry and holiness of Judaism into song.

Many of those who attended were YU students studying in Israel and some of the thousands of YU alumni who have made Aliyah, as well as other Israelis eager to enjoy the music and experience this unique cultural event.
The sold-out concert solidified YU’s role as the flagship Jewish University, able to unite Jews from the U.S. and Israel in an evening of joy, unity , and song, bringing an exuberant and moving end to the holiday of Sukkot.
YU has launched numerous educational, cultural, and business initiatives in Israel and the concert spotlighted the dynamic partnership between the University and Israel.

Photo credit: Jared Bernstein
Visit the YU Web site at www.yu.edu