7

Dr. Alisa Rubin Peled, Academic Director Eitam Pinter, Program Manager Lauder

School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy Interdisciplinary Center (IDC)

Herzliya

The Argov Fellows Program in Leadership and Diplomacy is the IDC Lauder School’s

honors program for government students entering their final year of study. As part of their

fellowship year, the 20 fellows participated in a two-week study tour to Europe and the

United States, which gave them access to a wide range of leaders and institutions in the

public, private, non-profit, and academic worlds.

Boston &

Washington

The Argov Fellows

visited Harvard, the

Capitol Hill.

Page 3

The Argov Fellowship

Study Tour to Europe & the US

January 26 - February 6, 2014

Europe

In Brussels the Argov

Fellows visited the EU

Council and Parliament

Page 2

Boston

The Argov Fellows

visited Harvard

University

Page 3

New York In New York, the Argov

Fellows visited the Wall

Street Journal, Israel’s

Mission to the UN and

much more.

Page 5

Dr. Alisa Rubin Peled, Academic Director

Eitam Pinter, Program Manager

Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy

Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya

The Argov Fellows Program in Leadership and Diplomacy is the IDC Lauder School's

honors program for government students entering their final year of study.

As part of their fellowship year, the 20 fellows participated in a two-week study tour to

Europe and the United States, which gave them access to a wide range of leaders and

institutions in the public, private, non-profit, and academic worlds.

Washington

The Argov Fellows

visited the

Brookings

Institution and

AIPAC

Page 4

Brussels The first day in Brussels opened with a discussion with Amb. David Walzer, head of Israel’s Mission to the European

Union, about the challenges facing Europe-Israel relations in the current era. The fellows were hosted for the rest of the day

at the residence of Reuwen and Sarah Daum, where they met with several key figures in the Brussels Jewish community,

including Judge Avi Schneebalg, a mediator and lecturer at Ghent University Law School, Baron Prof. Julien Klener, a

linguist and the president of Consistoire Central Israèlite de Belgique, and Adv. Jonathan Bierman, an alderman at

Commune d'Uccle. The conversations were mainly focused on the present and the future of the Jewish community in

Brussels and in Europe as a whole. The fellows spent the following day visiting the institutions of the European Union,

subjects they had studied extensively prior to the study tour. The day began with a briefing on the European Council by

Athenais Cazalis de Fondouce. The students then met Krassimir Nikolov, responsible for the Israel political desk at the

European External Action Service. The rest of the day was devoted to the European Parliament, and the students had

the opportunity to meet with a wide range of officials including European Parliament Members Bastian Belder (chair of the

delegation for relations with Israel) and Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck (vice chair of the working group on the Middle East).

Other speakers included Luca di Preso of the committee on foreign affairs, and Pekka Hakala of the directorate-general

for external policies of the Union (Middle East and North Africa). The fellows were also briefed by Alicia Ambos of the

Middle East and North Africa section of the political affairs and security policy division of NATO. Later that day, they had

the chance to attend a fascinating discussion of the European Parliament regarding the funding for the UN Relief and Works

Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). In the evening, the fellows attended the EU’s International Holocaust

Remembrance Day ceremony in which the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, the prime minister of

Greece, Antonis Samaras, and the president of the World Jewish Congress, Amb. Ronald Lauder, all gave speeches to

honor the memory of the victims. Their visit concluded with a dinner and informal discussion with Minister David

Saranga, the head of the European Parliament liaison department at Israel’s Mission to the European Union. Special thanks

to Benjamin Rey for arranging our EU visit for the eighth consecutive year.

Boston

The fellows kicked off their Boston visit with a gracious reception at the home of Dale and Marilyn Okonow. The event was co-hosted by Gideon Argov and

Alexandra Fuchs and Bob Grinberg and Debbie Lewis. The fellows spent the following day at Harvard University. They were first briefed by Brigadier

General (ret.) Kevin T. Ryan, the Executive Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government. They

then had a discussion with several senior scholars from the Belfer Center's Project on Managing the Atom. Next, Jed Willard, Director of the Kennedy School's

Public Diplomacy Collaborative led a dynamic discussion with the students. Harvard Graduate School Dean for Student Affairs Dr. Garth McCavana briefed

the students on the graduate school admissions process. Finally, in what has become an annual tradition, Harvard Business School Professor Joshua Margolis

led the group through an interactive discussion of a case study in leadership that he authored. Over the weekend, the students had an informal conversation with

Dick Simon on his track two diplomacy efforts with the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) and attended an international student gathering at Harvard Law

School.

Washington DC After arriving in Washington

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Washington DC After arriving in Washington, D.C., the fellows met with Michael Rubin, former director of operations for the Jewish

Foundation for Group Homes, and Rebecca Ennen, development and communications manager for Jews United for Justice,

to discuss NGOs in the United States. The fellows then met with Alec Ross, author and former senior advisor for innovation

to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The next day began with breakfast and a conversation about U.S. politics with Prof.

Peter Berkowitz, Tad and Dianne Taube senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. The fellows then went

on to meet Marvin Kalb, an award-winning reporter and founder of the Harvard's Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics

and Public Policy to talk about U.S. – Israel relations. This lecture was followed by a roundtable at the Brookings

Institution Saban Center for Middle East Policy on "Testing the Limits: Dilemmas for American Educational Institutions

in the Persian Gulf" with non-resident senior fellow Dr. Alisa Rubin Peled and moderated by Saban director Dr. Tamara

Cofman Wittes. Later that day, the fellows had the privilege of meeting with Judge David Tatel at the U.S. Court of

Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to learn about constitutional issues and the U.S. judicial system. The fellows

ended the day with an enriching conversation led by Jonathan Kessler, AIPAC leadership development director, about the

future relations of Israel and the U.S. followed by an evening of networking with Argov program alumni and young

professionals. Before leaving Washington, the fellows enjoyed a wonderful breakfast with Susannah Wellford, president

and founder of Running Start, a NGO which aims to get more women involved in politics.

With Judge David Tatel at the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

With Marvin Kalb in Washington

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Boston The Argov Fellows arrived in Boston for the annual reception, held this year at beautiful Temple Beth Elohim in

Wellesley, and hosted by Gideon Argov and Alexandra Fuchs, Dale and Marilyn Okonow and Bob Grinberg and

Debbie Lewis. The fellows spent the next day at Harvard University and the privilege of engaging with a variety of

speakers. The first panel was hosted by Brigadier General (ret.) Kevin T. Ryan, director of defense and intelligence

projects at the Kennedy School of Government’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, with the

participation of Rachel Whitlark and Oren Setter, both researchers in the field of international security. Next, Jed

Willard, the director of the Kennedy School’s Public Diplomacy Collaborative, led an eye-opening discussion on

Israel’s public diplomacy challenges. He was followed by Dr. Garth McCavana, the Harvard Graduate School Dean

of Student Affairs, who advised students on the Harvard M.A. and Ph.D. admissions process. The fellows then went

to Harvard Business School to attend a class taught by Prof. Joshua Margolis. During this session, the fellows

critically analyzed a case written by Professor Margolis and engaged in a philosophical and practical discussion on

what leadership means to them.

On Friday night, the fellows were hosted for services and a dinner at the Boston Synagogue, where they had the

opportunity to meet and interact with members of the local Jewish community. On Saturday night, the fellows had an

informal session with local students Yoav Schaefer (Harvard), Mike Baskin (Tufts) and Raphael Mimoun (Tufts),

who elaborated on the transition from studying in Israel to studying in the United States. On Sunday, the students had

brunch with the founders of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) Sababa project, Boris Revsin, Dan Seligson,

and Gidi Argov. This online platform seeks to foster the sharing of information regarding Israel through social

media. The fellows also had the opportunity to have a conversation with Dr. Meg Newhouse, a life coach and

counselor, who was able to give the students insight on methods which would enable them to pursue and achieve their

future goals. The Boston visit wrapped up with a conversation with Dick Simon on his track-two diplomacy efforts to

unite Israeli and Palestinian students through the Young Presidents’ Organization.

With program founder Gideon Argov at Temple Beth-Elohim. in Boston

With Ambassador Ron Prosor at the Israel's Permanent Mission to the UN

With James Wolfensohn, former head of the World Bank

New York The students arrived in beautiful snow-covered White Plains in Westchester, New York to meet former Argov program

manager and current Jewish Agency emissary Yoav Cohen at the Bet Am Shalom Synagogue. The students were

introduced to the active members of the Jewish Student Connection who shared their inputs on the recent Pew poll on

American Jews. Later on, the fellows drove to the center of Manhattan to the headquarters of Seeds of Peace, a NGO

focusing on uniting Israeli and Palestinian teenagers through a summer camp program in Maine and debated how to

bridge Israeli-Palestinian cleavages. Later that evening, the students attended the annual IDC reception at the Penn Club.

The following day the students started off with visiting Israel’s Permanent Mission to the UN, where Ambassador Ron

Prosor assessed the challenges that Israel faces in the organization. The students went on to the Council on Foreign

Relations, where they had a discussion with Foreign Affairs staff editor Frederick Deknatel and assistant editor

Harrison Monsky. The fellows then met with James Wolfensohn, the former head of the World Bank and current

chairman and CEO of Wolfensohn Fund Management to discuss the international political economy and the future

prospects of the global market. They spent the evening out with the many Argov program alumni in the New York area.

During the final day of the study tour, the Argov Fellows met with Seth “Yossi” Siegel, founder of Beanstalk Group and

an AIPAC board member, over breakfast where he shared his personal life story and the importance of corporate social

responsibility. The fellows continued to the Abraham Joshua Heschel School where they has a tour and met with the

founder, Peter Geffen, who shared fascinating stories about his civil rights activism with Martin Luther King. He also

outlined the importance of Moroccan-Israel relations and how the next Jewish generation must bridge the gap not only

with the Palestinians but also with the Arab world. Afterwards, the fellows had a lively discussion on current

international affairs with Bret Stephens, the deputy editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal. The students then

had a fascinating brainstorming discussion with Amb. Ronald Lauder about how to improve Israel’s public diplomacy

efforts. The study tour concluded with a closing dinner at a kosher Indian restaurant where the fellows reflected on the

study tour experience. We would like to give special thanks to Ira Reiner, Alisa Rubin Peled, Eitam Pinter, Galit

Reichlin, Gideon Argov and all the other supporters of the program that made this study tour possible. Thanks also to

Lidor Bar David, Karin Shpitzer, and Maya Shaposhnik for producing this report.