Caravan for Democracy High School Edition Brings Raanan Gissin to Philadelphia

Former Senior Advisor to Ariel Sharon to Speak at Local High Schools

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Leora Kaufman
Caravan for Democracy HSE Coordinator
212-308-5595
lkaufman@thelikud.org

March 6, 2007 -- Philadelphia, PA -- Dr. Raanan Gissin, former senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, will be in the Philadelphia area this week for a speaking tour at local high schools sponsored by Caravan for Democracy High School Edition (HSE). 

The tour will include lectures at Akiba Hebrew Academy in Merion (March 8, 11:00 a.m), Stern Hebrew High School in Philadelphia (March 8, 2:30 p.m.), and Julia R. Masterman High School in Philadelphia (March 9, 8:30 a.m.). 

Launched in 2004 by Jewish National Fund, American Friends of Likud, and Media Watch International, Caravan for Democracy HSE is an Israel advocacy program that prepares high school juniors and seniors to respond to anti-Israel acts and rhetoric in an intelligent and informed manner when they arrive at college. Since inception, it has held more than 60 events in over 20 cities and has educated 6,500 high school students about Israel and the Middle East.

Dr. Gissin served as the senior advisor to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.  In recent years he has become one of Israel’s leading spokesmen for the foreign press and the international community on security and strategic issues and the peace process. 

Dr. Gissin’s distinguished career with the Israel Defense Forces began in 1979 with his position as a strategic analyst in the planning branch, where he was involved in the planning and implementation of the Sinai withdrawal.  He served as an IDF spokesman during most of the 1980s, which saw the war in Lebanon and the intifada. In 1991, Dr. Gissin served as special advisor to the Israeli Delegation at the Madrid Peace Conference and the subsequent negotiations with Arab and Palestinian delegations in Washington, D.C.  After retiring from active duty in 1993, Dr. Gissin initiated and organized the Pension 200 Conference in Israel with senior Israeli economic leaders and top fund executives and investors from the United States.  In 1996, he was appointed spokesperson of the newly created Ministry of National Infrastructures headed by Ariel Sharon.

Dr. Gissin will also give a private briefing at a JNF parlor meeting at the home of Robert and Pam Benedon on March 11 at 7:30 p.m.  Benedon is president of JNF’s South Jersey executive board.   

For more information, contact Leora Kaufman at 212-308-5595 or lkaufman@thelikud.org, or visit http://www.caravanfordemocracy.org/.

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Jewish National Fund (JNF) began in 1901 collecting coins in blue boxes to purchase land and return the Jewish people to their homeland. In over 109 years, JNF has evolved into a global environmental leader and become the central address for partnering with the land and people of Israel. JNF has planted 250 million trees; built over 1,000 parks and recreational areas; constructed security roads; educated students around the world about Israel; created new communities so that Jews from around the world would have a place to call home; discovered new means of growing plants under arid conditions, bringing green to the desert; and built over 200 reservoirs and water recycling centers, increasing Israel’s water supply by 10%. Today, JNF is supporting Israel’s newest generation of pioneers by bringing life to the Negev Desert, Israel’s last frontier. 

A United Nations NGO, JNF sponsors international conferences on desertification, shares afforestation techniques, and funds research on arid land management. JNF is a registered 501(c)(3) organization and continuously earns top ratings from charity overseers. For more information on JNF, call 888-JNF-0099 or visit www.jnf.org.