Building Community plans Israel trip

to share Jewish and Chaldean sites.

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from Israel

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More than 20 years ago, a small

group of Chaldean and Jewish

leaders dreamed of taking a trip

together to visit each other's

homelands, Iraq and Israel. Such

a trip seemed unlikely because

of pressures in each community

and the small number of Jews and

Chaldeans with strong relation-

ships at that time.

But now, that dream is becoming a
reality under the leadership of Martin
Manna, publisher of the Chaldean News,
and Arthur Horwitz, publisher of the
Detroit Jewish News, through the Building
Community Initiative (BCI). To our knowl-
edge, no trip to Israel with Chaldeans and
Jews traveling together from the United
States has ever occurred. This joint trip of
Chaldeans and Jews will be historic.
We, as co-chairs of the Israel trip, along
with Manna and Horwitz, are planning
this visit with the assistance of the local
Jewish Community Relations Council
(JCRC), under director Robert Cohen.
The trip is scheduled to depart Detroit
on Tuesday, April 16, 2013, following
Passover and Easter. Participants will
return on Thursday, April 25, or they can
elect to stay for an optional tour of Petra
in Jordan. Cost of the basic trip will be
$3,695 per person (double occupancy),
including economy airfare from Detroit.
JCRC has planned many inspiring joint
experiences in Israel for groups consist-
ing of Jews and non-Jews.
For sure, the country casts a spiritual
spell over both Jews and Christians.

44 August 2 • 2012

Going to such a sacred place is exciting
in itself, but sharing the experience will
be incredible.
Plans at this time include visits to Tel
Aviv and Jaffa to learn the history of the
modern State of Israel, the Old City of
Jerusalem to see the Christian and Jewish
quarters, the Christian sites in Jerusalem
and Nazareth, a climb up Masada fol-
lowed by a visit to the lowest place on
Earth, the Dead Sea, overnight on a kib-
buti near Tiberias, and a tour of the part-
nership region of the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit in the Central
Galilee to visit with Israelis.
Participants will see the Sabbath prep-
arations in Jerusalem on Friday after-
noon, and those wishing to attend mass
in Jerusalem will do so on Sunday.

Developing Relationships
During the first year of the Building
Community Initiative, which is building
links of various kinds between Jews and
Chaldeans, Robert Cohen approached
Manna and Horwitz about the possibility
of a joint trip to Israel. Since then, BCI
has seen an explosion of joint activi-
ties resulting in new relationships and
projects involving young people, women,
business people and members of each
community interested in learning about
each other's culture and community.
After three years of working in com-
mittees on joint projects, there was

Top: The Western Wall in Jerusalem is sacred
to Jews.

Bottom: The grotto of the Church of
Annunciation in Nazareth

enthusiasm from both Chaldeans and
Jews when Manna and Horwitz again dis-
cussed a trip to Israel.
The opportunity to see Israel's reli-.
gious sites, to meet new people and view
the country through other eyes, has excit-
ed BCI members. Several inquires have
come from individuals who have never
been to Israel, but many experienced
travelers will participate as well.
The many places in Israel significant to
the history of Jews and Chaldeans make
it an important place to travel. The jour-
ney promises to be a spiritual, emotional .
and educational experience.
We hope that traveling together will
mark another meaningful chapter in
the history of these two groups. The fact

that it is coming to fruition speaks of
the commitment of the Chaldeans and
Jews in Metro Detroit to the Building
Community Initiative. We truly believe
this trip to Israel has the potential of
being a trip of a lifetime. BC

Learn More
An information meeting for the
Chaldean-Jewish trip to Israel next

April is planned for Wednesday,
Aug. 8, at 7:30 p.m. at Shenandoah
Country Club, 5600 Walnut Lake
Road, West Bloomfield. For details,
contact Robert Cohen of the JCRC at

(248) 642-5393.