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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
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Boston
The Argov Fellows
visited Harvard
University
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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
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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.