Saxum Holy Land Dialogue Booklet (en) by Saxum Foundation

HOLY LAND DIALOGUES 2016 SAXUM FOUNDATION

Shepherdsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Field (Bethlehem). Photo: Saxum

HOLY LAND DIALOGUES 2016 • SAXUM FOUNDATION

INDEX What is Saxum?.................................................................................................................................. 5 Welcome Letter.................................................................................................................................. 7 Holy Land Dialogues Program ............................................................................................ 8 Holy Land................................................................................................................................................ 9

Bethlehem: Church of the Nativity and the Shepherds’ Field......... 10

Ein Karem: Birthplace of John the Baptist ........................................................ 11

Nazareth: Basilica of the Annunciation................................................................ 12

Capernaum: The Town of Jesus ................................................................................. 13

Tabgha: The Multiplication of Loaves and Fish and The Primacy of Peter.................................................................................................. 14

Dominus Flevit: «On Seeing the City, He Wept Over It»........................ 15

Gethsemane: The Agony in the Garden.............................................................. 16

Cenacle: The Room of the Last Supper................................................................ 17

St. Peter in Gallicantu........................................................................................................... 18

Via Dolorosa................................................................................................................................. 19

Jerusalem: Calvary.................................................................................................................. 20

Jerusalem: The Holy Sepulchre................................................................................... 21

The Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven....................................................... 22

Dialogues................................................................................................................................................ 23 Lectures..................................................................................................................................................... 24 Presentation of the Saxum Project and Panel of Authorities.................... 26 Useful Tips............................................................................................................................................... 31

Jerusalem

HOLY LAND DIALOGUES 2016 • SAXUM FOUNDATION

WHAT IS SAXUM? St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, longed to visit the Holy Land during his lifetime to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. In 1994, the first successor of St. Josemaria - Blessed Alvaro del Portillo – made a special pilgrimage to the Holy Land. That same year, in honor of Bishop Alvaro (who passed away upon his return from the pilgrimage), the Prelature of Opus Dei initiated the Saxum project, together with cooperators and friends. The name Saxum (‘rock’ in Latin) pays homage to the nickname St. Josemaria gave to Bishop Alvaro del Portillo for his unrelenting fidelity and fortitude in his work, his vocation, and in his service to the Church.

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The Saxum Project is made up of a conference center in which spiritual retreats, workshops and conferences will be organized, and a Visitors Center where pilgrims will be able to deepen their knowledge about the places they visit in the Holy Land.

Saxum’s Construction Site

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WELCOME LETTER Dear Participants, Welcome to the first Holy Land Dialogues! In these days, I am sure all of us thank God for the fulfillment of a cherished dream of St. Josemaria and Blessed Alvaro del Portillo: Saxum. The project is in its final stages and it is my honor to spend these days with people from all five continents who have supported Saxum with admirable generosity. In this week, we shall visit the Holy Places and retrace the steps of Jesus in his homeland. We will go deeper in the roots of our faith and express our wishes for peace for all the inhabitants of the Holy Land. Ultimately, we will experience the desires that led us to participate in this unique project in our own lives. I am convinced these days will be unforgettable ones. The Holy Land always welcomes and transforms the hearts of those who visit it and therefore, allow me to reiterate my warmest welcome to the land of Jesus. Sincerely,

Alfonso Alegiani President of the Saxum Foundation

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PROGRAM HOLY LAND DIALOGUES MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7 The Transforming Power of the Holy Land Visit to Jerusalem’s holy sites and the surrounding area First lecture: The impact of the Judeo-Christian heritage on science, culture, and art.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8 Rediscovering our roots: visit to Nazareth and Galilee WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9 The fruits of our heritage Visit to Jerusalem’s holy sites and the surrounding area Second lecture: Personal Transformation in the Holy Places from Antiquity to the Present

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10 Fostering peace and understanding Presentation of Saxum. Panel with government authorities. Visit to Jerusalem’s holy sites and the surrounding area

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11 Committed to the future Mass of Thanksgiving at Saxum

HOLY LAND

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BETHLEHEM

CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY & THE SHEPHERDS’ FIELD It has been calculated that Bethlehem was founded by the Canaanites around the year 3000 BC. The earliest mentions of the town date from 1350 BC, in letters from the Egyptian governor of Palestine to the Pharaoh, after which it was conquered by the Philistines. Bethlehem was linked to David’s dynasty, and the

prophet Micah foretold that there, in that little town, the Messiah would be born. The houses of Bethlehem were modest ones, and as in other parts of ancient Palestine, the villagers used natural caves as stores and stables, and dug more out of the side of the ridge. It was in one of these that Jesus was born. Church of the Nativity (Bethlahem)

Annunciation to the Shepherds (detail). Shepherds’ Field Church (Bethlehem). Photo: Saxum

«In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house

and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.» [Lk 2: 6-7] 10

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EIN KAREM

BIRTHPLACE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

Church of the Visitation, Mosaic’s detail. Photo: Berthold Werner

Ein Karem is a little village about six kilometers west of the Old City, on the outskirts of present-day Jerusalem. Its buildings of light-colored stone seem to have put down roots in the leafy hillsides, where groves of pines and cypresses alternate with terraces of vines and olive-trees. It appears that in our Lord’s time, this town was reserved for priests and Levites; its proximity to the Temple made it easy for them to get there to fulfill their priestly duties, when their turn came every six months. Zechariah and Elizabeth lived here, according to ancient tradition, and it was here Mary visited them after the Annunciation. Three months later, when the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child, John the Baptist was born in this village.

«During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.» [Lk 1:39-46]

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NAZARETH

BASILICA OF THE ANNUNCIATION

Grotto of the Annunciation (Nazareth)

Several places in Nazareth preserve the memory of our Lord’s presence. The main one is the Basilica of the Annunciation, in which the room in which the Blessed Virgen received tidings from the Angel Gabriel is preserved. Blessed Alvaro del

Portillo celebrated Mass in this cave. Close by, the remains of the house where the Holy Family would have lived are conserved in the crypt of the church of St. Joseph.

«In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Highest, 11 and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his

kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man? “And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived 13 a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.» [Lk 1:26-38]

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CAPERNAUM THE TOWN OF JESUS

Jesus resided for some time in this small community on the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret, which was the center of his public ministry in Galilee. Though it was a small village, it lay on the “Via Maris” or the Sea Road that connected Damascus and Egypt, and was on a border zone between two districts ruled by sons of King Herod: Galilee, ruled by Herod Antipas, and the region of Ituraea and

Trachonitis, ruled by Philip. Its importance in the neighborhood can be seen by its customs-house and detachment of Roman soldiers headed by a centurion. The words of one particular centurion of Capernaum have gone down in history, for Our Lord was deeply moved by his faith, and now we repeat those very words every time we attend Mass.

Synagogue of Capernaum (Galilee). Photo: Unesco / Wikicommons

«When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:

Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.” From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.“»

“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,

[Mt 4: 12-17] 13

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TABGHA

THE MULTIPLICATION OF LOAVES AND FISH AND THE PRIMACY OF PETER Tabgha is a zone three kilometers to the west of Capernaum, extending a few hectares inland from the shore of the lake. We can get some idea of the towns that Jesus knew from their ruins. Here, on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee, the Church of the Beatitudes commemorates the place where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. Not far away,

pilgrims venerate the rock upon which, according to Christian tradition, the Lord placed five loaves and two fish with which he fed the multitudes. It was in this area, too, that He appeared to his Apostles after the Resurrection, bringing about the second miraculous catch of fish and confirming St. Peter as head of the Church.

«When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” (Jesus) said to him, “Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and

someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.” Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me.”So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just “What if I want him to remain until I come? (What concern is it of yours?).”» [Jn 21:15-23] 14

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DOMINUS FLEVIT

«ON SEEING THE CITY, HE WEPT OVER IT»

View of Jerusalem from the Dominus Flevit Church (Mount of Olives). Photo: Saxum

«On the western side of the Mount of Olives, the Dominus Flevit church recalls the tears Christ shed for Jerusalem upon his triumphal entry into the city, a few days before his Passion. “The Passion of Jesus is an inexhaustible source of life. Sometimes we renew the joyous impulse that took our Lord to Jerusalem.

Other times, the pain of the agony which ended on Calvary... Or the glory of his triumph over death and sin. But always, the love – joyful, sorrowful, glorious – of the Heart of Jesus Christ.” » [St. Josemaria, The Way of the Cross, 14th Station, point 3]

«As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”» [Lk 19:41-44]

Mosaic in Altar of the Church of Dominus Flevit. Photo: Anton 17 / Wikimedia Commons

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GETHSEMANE THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN According to tradition, the garden of Gethsemane lies on the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron Valley. It was here Jesus came after the Last Supper, according to the Gospel accounts. It seems to have been a garden or an orchard with an oil-press (this is the meaning of the

name Gethsemane), and it stood east of the city walls of Jerusalem, on the way to Bethany. In the Garden of Olives, seeing the imminence of his Passion, soon to be set in motion by Judas’ betrayal, Our Lord warned us of the need to pray.

Church of All Nations (Jerusalem) Photo: Berthold Werner (Wikimedia Commons)

«Then going out he went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. When he arrived at the place he said to them, “Pray that you may not undergo the test.” After withdrawing about a stone’s throw from them and kneeling, he prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” (And to strengthen him an angel from heaven

appeared to him. He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.) When he rose from prayer and returned to his disciples, he found them sleeping from grief. He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not undergo the test.”» [Lk 22:39-46] 16

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CENACLE

THE ROOM OF THE LAST SUPPER According to ancient tradition, the room of the Last Supper is located in a building at the southwestern extreme of the Old City, on a hill which has been called Zion since the Christian era. Room of the Last Supper (Jerusalem) Photo: Saxum

of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.” » [Lk 22:14-20]

«When the hour came, he took his place at table with the apostles. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for, I tell you, I shall not eat it (again) until there is fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I tell you (that) from this time on I shall not drink

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ST. PETER IN GALLICANTU

Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (Jerusalem) Photo: Saxum

Near the Cenacle rise the steeples of the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, over the remains of what may have been the house of the high priest. All four Evangelists describe the interrogation of Jesus by the chief priests and the Sanhedrin, which took place in the house of Caiaphas. This episode would have taken place on the eastern slope of Mount Zion, not far from the Cenacle, the room of the Last Supper. This was a residential district in Jesus’s time, overlooking the Kedron Valley and the Valley of Hinnom. «Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm. And they said to him, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” Again Peter denied it. And immediately the cock crowed.» [Jn 18:25-27]

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VIA DOLOROSA These fourteen stations commemorate the path of Our Lord as he carried the Cross from the praetorium to Calvary, his Crucifixion, and the interment of his body in the Sepulchre. The tradition of the Way of the Cross is based on venerating the Holy Places where the events of the Passion happened, where instead of trying to imagine the scenes of the Passion, they were physically before one’s eyes. There is a pious legend in De Transitu Mariae, a 5th century apocryphal Syriac text, that the Blessed Virgin Mary walked daily along the route where her Son had suffered and shed his Blood.

From later accounts, it seems that the path Jesus walked through the streets of Jerusalem was marked out little by little. In the same way, the “stations” of the Way of the Cross were gradually established by the spots where the faithful would pause to contemplate each episode of

the Passion.The Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem is the ultimate “Way of the Cross”, walked by Christians for centuries. Most of the events of the Fourteen Stations are taken straight from the Gospel, while others have been passed down in devout Christian tradition.

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JERUSALEM CALVARY

The last five stations of the Way of the Cross are located in the interior of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. The early Christians in Jerusalem took great care to preserve the memory of the location, so that it was never lost despite many difficulties. Altar of Calvary in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem. Photo: Saxum

«Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.” Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”(…) Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and

the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst. “There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.”» [Jn 19:17-22, 25-30] 20

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JERUSALEM THE HOLY SEPULCHRE

The tomb in which the body of Jesus was laid and from which he rose from on the third day occupies the place of honor in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. The whole area, including part of the sepulchre itself, has undergone significant structural alterations over the centuries, but scriptural and archeological evidence allows for a reasonable estimation of what the place was like in the first century AD.

«After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body. Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been cruci-

Mosaic of Christ’s death. Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem)

fied there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.» [Jn 19: 38-42]. 21

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DORMITION ABBEY

THE ASSUMPTION OF OUR LADY INTO HEAVEN

Basilica of the Dormition view from the Mount of Olives (Jerusalem). Photo: Saxum

In Jerusalem, two churches commemorate the mystery of the Assumption of the Virgin: the Basilica of the Dormition on Mount Zion, and the Tomb of the Virgin Mary, near Gethsemane. In the second half of the fourth century, a basilica was built which was called Holy Zion and was considered the mother of all churches. This basilica included the Cenacle and the place of the “transit of Our Lady”, which tradition said took place in a house in the area. Blessed Alvaro del Portillo visited the Basilica of the Dormition on March 22, 1994, on the last day of his pilgrimage in the Holy Land. He prayed intensely there in the morning, as he prepared to celebrate Mass in the Church of the Cenacle in the nearby Franciscan Monastery.

DIALOGUES

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LECTURES Dialogue on the impact of Judeo-Christian heritage on science, culture, and art Andrew Briggs Andrew Briggs is the inaugural holder of the Chair of Nanomaterials at the University of Oxford. He has led several interdisciplinary projects, with major industrial sponsorship from companies such as BNFL, Toppan, Hitachi, and Hewlett-Packard. In February 2016, Oxford University Press published his book with Roger Wagner entitled The Penultimate Curiosity: How science swims in the slipstream of ultimate questions.

Dialogue on personal transformation in the Holy Places from antiquity to the present Eric Cohen Eric Cohen is executive director of the Tikvah Fund, a foundation devoted to Jewish ideas. He is founding editor and editor-at-large of The New Atlantis, and was director of the bioethics program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC.

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These lectures are organized in collaboration with The Social Trends Institute (STI) The Social Trends Institute (STI) is a non-profit research center that offers institutional and financial support to academics in all fields who seek to make sense of emerging social trends and their effects on human communities. STI focuses its research on four subject areas: Family, Bioethics, Culture & Lifestyles, and Corporate Governance. Primarily it organizes meetings of experts, which bring together scholars to present and discuss their original research in an academic forum.

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PRESENTATION OF THE SAXUM PROJECT AND PANEL OF AUTHORITIES FOSTERING PEACE AND UNDERSTANDING GIDEON SAAR Gideon Saar was born in Tel Aviv in 1966. After serving in the IDF, he graduated from Tel Aviv University in Political Science, and also received a Bachelor of Law degree. In January 1999, he was appointed as Government Secretary in the first Netanyahu government. In 2001, he was re-appointed to the same position by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. In 2003, he was elected for the first time to the Knesset in the Likud party, where he served as chairman to the party, and to the coalition. In the seventeenth Knesset, he served as Vice Chairman of the Knesset, and as Chairman of the Committee on the “Status of Women”, being the first and only man to hold this position. In 2009, he was appointed as the Minister of Education, holding the position for 4 years. In 2013, he was appointed as the Minister of the Interior. In November 2014, Saar resigned from his positions in the Knesset and in the government, announcing his break from politics.

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YARIV LAVIN Yariv Lavin born in Modi’in (Israel) in 1969. He graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with a degree in law, and served as an Arabic translator in the IDF. He also has served as vice president of the Israel Bar Association (1999-2007) and as a member of the Joint Commission of Judges and Lawyers Association of Israel (2006-2007). He has been a member of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) during the 18th and 19th legislatures. He was appointed as Minister of Tourism in the 20th legislature. Lavin Yariv is married and the father of three children.

JORGE FERNÁNDEZ DÍAZ Jorge Fernandez Diaz was born in Valladolid, Spain, in 1950. He holds an Engineering degree from the Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering, specializing in Industrial Organization. He is also a graduate of the School of Marketing and Business Administration of Barcelona. He has numerous decorations, and has held numerous public and political responsibilities since 1998. Currently, he holds the position of Acting Interior Minister of the Kingdom of Spain. He is married and has two children.

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ROMAN GIERTYCH Roman Giertych was born in Śrem, Poland, in 1971, and holds Master’s degrees in both Law and History from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. He was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education from May 2006 until August 2007; and member of the Sejm (the lower house of the Polish parliament) from 2001 until October 2007. From 2001 to 2005 he was a chief of the Commission for the Poles Abroad and Member of the Polish delegation in OECD. He founded the law firm Kancelaria Adwokacka Romana Giertycha, and currently practices in Warsaw. In 2016 (after 2 years), he was able to help Jews from Gora Kalwaria recover their synagogue. Roman Giertych is married and father of four.

IMAD YOUNIS Imad Younis was born in Nazareth, Israel, in 1961. He graduated from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology with a degree in electrical engineering, and in 1993, founded Alpha Omega, a now-worldwide company that develops and markets leading-edge equipment in the fields of functional neurosurgery and neuroscience research. Before founding Alpha Omega, Mr. Younis held several R&D positions at Fidelity Medical Ltd, and the Technion School of Medicine in Haifa, Israel. He has initiated and promotes many programs with young adults and college students that reflect his mission beliefs. He is married and the father of three children.

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«Since its inception, the Saxum Project has been committed to facilitating dialogue and finding solutions for coexistence between people of different religions in the Holy Land.» Saxum Foundation

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USEFUL TIPS LOCAL CURRENCY

SHABBAT (DAY OF REST)

The local currency in Israel is the New Israeli Shekel (NIS). The approximate equivalent is: 1 EUR = 4.35 Shekel (NIS) 1 USD = 3.86 Shekel (NIS). VISA, MASTER CARD and AMERICAN EXPRESS are accepted credit cards.

A very important day for the Jews: it begins Friday at sunset and ends on Saturday at sunset. Banks, shops, and many restaurants are closed. All Israeli public transportation stops (except taxis).

COMMUNICATIONS

LUGGAGE

It is advisable to activate roaming for calls ONLY. Data service is very expensive. Wi-Fi is available in most hotels and restaurants.

Your hand luggage should not contain sharp objects and/or liquids exceeding 100 ml (these must be packed in a closed transparent bag to pass through security).

LANGUAGE

CONTACT INFO

In the Holy Land people speak Hebrew and Arabic, though English is spoken and understood in almost all tourist areas. In any case, since you will be with a guide, you should not have communication problems.

Holy Land Dialogues Coordinator, Elena Panadero: +972 (0)54 8159271 Director of Saxum Visitors Center, Almudena Romero: +972 (0)54 9396898 Secretary-General of Saxum Foundation, Antonio Quintana: +972 (0)54 4630646 Communications Manager, Andres Juarez: +972 (0)54 9383276 Taxi Service: +972 (0)50 9334421