April 25 was the second work day for the new EAJC program for journalists of non-Jewish media, titled “Discovering Israel.” The participants visited the ceremony dedicated to Yom Hazikaron, or Israeli Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day, which took place near the Jerusalem city hall. The ceremony included a memorial prayer and a speech by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.

The participants also visited the Ministry of Tourism, where they met with the Head of the Department for Russian, Ukrainian, and German Communications Kseniya Kobyakova and Ephim Trachtenberg, ministerial advisor. The workers of the ministry spoke about the state of tourism in Israel, the development of different branches of tourism from the former FSU countries (sacred pilgrimages, medicinal tourism, archeological tourism and even extreme tourism), as well as of the problems tied with developing tourism, in particular- the difficulties in balancing the tendency to increase the flow of tourists and the strict security requirements. The journalists asked questions on developing two-way tourism between Israel and the countries they represented.

The participants of the program also visited the Muslim village Abu Ghosh, inhabited by the descendants of Chechens who moved to the Near East approximately 500 years ago. The residents of this village are well-known for their loyalty to Israel from the moment of the state’s founding. The journalists met with the head of the village council, Salim Jaber, who spoke in detail about the life of his village, which he proudly called “a bridge between Israelis and Palestinians.” As Saim Jaber said, “the Arabs are our brothers, and Israel is our country.” The journalists were extremely interested in how the residents of the village searched for their historic roots and their developing contacts with the Chechen republic. A new large mosque is being built with the aid of the Chechen government, and there is a new street named after Ahmad Kadyrov. After a meal in Abu Ghosh, famous for the culinary prowess of its residents, the journalists returned to Jerusalem.

The next part of the program was a visit to the Yad Vashem National Memoria. The tour for the journalists was given by the head of a project to immortalize the names of Holocaust victims, famous documentary director Boris Maftsir. At the end of the tour, he asked the journalists to spread information about his project and thus help preserve the names of the fallen heroes.

In the evening, a meeting was organized between the journalists and their former compatriots, leaders of the national communities of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine.

The day ended on the Talpiot viewpoint, from which the journalists had the view of a fireworks show in honor of Israel’s Independence Day.