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The Merchant of VINO

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The
Merchant
of VINO

Now Open at
12 Mile and Middlebelt

Marketplace Locations:

Vevi(extjzietee

Now Open

MARKETPLACE

MARKETPLACE

BIRMINGHAM

Rochester Hills

Ann Arbor

Somerset Plaza

Cellar Collection

*

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2

WALTON BLVD.

:71

1404 Walton Blvd.
(810) 652-2100
FAX (810) 652-3273

*

PLYMOUTH RD.

HU RON PKWY.

MARKETPLACE

2789 Plymouth Rd.
(810) 769-0900
FAX (313) 769-9404

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8

MAPLE

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MAPLE RD.

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WATTLES

A panoramic view of Jerusalem.

284 W. Maple
(810) 433-3000
FAX (810) 433-1214

2880 W. Maple Rd.
(810) 649-9600
FAX (810) 649-1141

4052 Rochester Rd.
(810) 689-0900
FAX (810) 689-8377

Johnny and Pete Ginopolis
and the employees of

GAIL LICHTMAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

851-8222

Heartily Wish
Their Customers, Friends
And The Entire Community

A VERY HEALTHY
AND HAPPY
NEW YEAR

Rita Jerome and Stctff
Extend Best Wishes For A

Joyous and Healthy New Year

25270 Greenfield, Oak Park 967 1161

-

ith the revamping
and expansion of
Jerusalem's venerable
Binyanei Ha'ooma into
the state-of-the-art International
Convention Center (ICC), and the
long-awaited coming of peace to
Israel and the region, 1996 is
shaping up as the year that will
firmly establish the city of
Jerusalem as one of the world's
leading venues for international
conventions.
Strategically located at the en-
trance to Jerusalem, the center is
booked for 300 days this year with
approximately 220 events to be
attended by an anticipated
600,000 persons. Forty-five of the
events are international.
Spearheaded by the vision of
former longtime Jerusalem may-
or Teddy Kollek, that city's fathers
decided to enter the fray in full
force and transform the aging
Binyanei Ha'ooma, built in 1950,
into a modern international con-
vention center.
This entailed major upgrading
of the existing facilities as well
as a $45 million expansion pro-
gram, completed in May 1995.
This included the addition of the
largest multi-purpose hall in the
Middle East — the 17,200 sq. ft.
Teddy Hall, named after Teddy
Kollek. .
Today the center has over
129,120 sq. ft. of exhibition space
and its 27 meeting halls can ac-
commodate from 20 to 3,100 per-
sons, hosting up to 10,000 persons
at one time. In addition, the ful-
ly air-conditioned facility offers
state-of-the-art audio-visual equip-
ment, simultaneous translation
services, comprehensive stage ser-
vices with advanced lighting and
amplification systems, communi-
cation centers, interview rooms,
private offices, restaurants and
parking for 800 cars.

W

00 qta

27815 Middlebelt at 12 Mile • Farmington Hills

Convention Center
In Jerusalem

4

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But all this, even when com-
bined with Jerusalem's historical
and religious significance, still
would have added up to a hard
sell had the political climate in the
Middle East and the world not un-
dergone a major revolution.
Until the fall of Communism
and the breakup of the former So-
viet Union, it would have been un-
thinkable for most Communist
bloc countries to have allowed in-
dividual nationals, never mind of-
ficial delegations, to attend an
international convention in Israel.
And, of course, until the peace
process, this was equally true of
most Arab and many Third World
countries. This effectively put a
damper on international bodies
or groups holding their conven-
tions in Israel.
Today, the situation has com-
pletely changed. Recent conven-
tions at the center include the
Prime Minister's Conference of
Peace Tourism, held in October
1995, which drew 1,000 partici-
pants from 30 countries; the
Jerusalem Business Conference
in September 1995, with 2,000
participants from 44 countries and
the Annual Meeting of the Inter-
American Development Bank,
with 3,000 participants from 64
countries.
Medical meetings account for
about half of all those held at the
center; 20 percent are of a reli-
gious nature and the remaining
30 percent are high-tech, scien-
tific or business related. Events
slated for 1996 include: the 27th
Congress of the World Associa-
tion of Cooks, the Israel Labor
Party Convention, the Interna-
tional Association for Archive
Films Conference, Israel Bonds,
IBM Convention, Architects
Seminar, the 12th International

JERUSALEM page R36