Project Interchange, a non-profit institute of the American Jewish Committee, develops and executes educational seminars in Israel for current and emerging United States and international leaders.
Since 1982, Project Interchange (PI) has equipped over 5,000 seminar participants from more than 60 countries with a balanced foundation for understanding Israel’s history, diverse makeup, and strategic objectives. PI seminars are highly interactive and promote dialogue on a wide array of complex issues.
Project Interchange relies on donors who support its unique purpose and the measurable results its programs yield.
Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk has picked up the GOP’s nomination for the Senate seat vacated last year by President Obama; State Senator Kirk Dillard is in a tight race for the Republican Gubernatorial nomination; and Marty Castro was appointed by Gov. Pat Quinn to chair the Illinois Human Rights Commission. The three have all visited Israel with Project Interchange.
Media outlets across the South Pacific, as well as various US and Israeli publications covered the historic visit to Israel by President Manny Mori of Micronesia and President Marcus Stephen of Nauru. The delegation, which also included ambassadors and foreign ministers of those Pacific Islands nations, came to Israel under the auspices of Project Interchange and was formally welcomed by Israeli President Shimon Peres.
To access the articles, click here.
In an opinion piece published by the Jerusalem Post, H.E. Marlene Moses, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Nauru to the United Nations, reflects on the Pacific island nation’s backing of Israel at the UN.
To the question, “Why does Nauru vote with Israel?” she responds, “Because Israel is the lone democracy in its neighborhood and therefore, it is the right thing to do.”
Ambassador Moses joined several fellow UN ambassadors from Pacific Island nations on a PI seminar in 2008. In January 2010, she traveled again to Israel with PI alongside the presidents of Nauru and Micronesia in an historic diplomatic visit.
To access the opinion piece, click here.
The Jerusalem Post published a letter by Ambassador Richard Schifter praising Project Interchange. Schifter, a longtime PI board member, writes:
“Michael Freund’s column ‘Time for a Hasbara birthright’ (Jerusalem Post, January 6) calls for developing a birthright equivalent ‘geared toward key decision-makers… in the US, Europe, and elsewhere.’ In fact, an extraordinarily successful program of this sort already exists.”
[Note: According to its website, Taglit-Birthright Israel, commonly known as Birthright, "provides the gift of first time, peer group, educational trips to Israel for Jewish young adults ages 18 to 26."]
To access the article, click here.
Daniel Burnett, the managing editor of The Red & Black, a student newspaper serving the University of Georgia, expresses compassion for the residents of Sderot and Gaza, urging his readers, “immerse yourself in the situation… [it] is not black and white.” To access the article, based on Burnett’s recent visit to the region with Project Interchange, click here.
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Presidents, Foreign Ministers, and Ambassadors of Pacific Island Nations - January 2010
Scandinavian Journalists and Journalism Students - January 2010
US Counterterrorism Experts - November 2009
Cristian Gaginsky, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Romania in Washington, DC
The views expressed by past or present participants of Project Interchange seminars, through video, print, and all other media, do not necessarily reflect those of Project Interchange.
Pastor Derrick Harkins of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, DC speaks to his congregation about visiting Israel with Project Interchange
