Today I visited numerous significant areas in and around Jerusalem. The day began with a visit to The Israel Center for Excellence through Education. ICEE provided me an opportunity to see a model academic institution, chat with students, and learn how Israel is at the forefront of instilling a culture of excellence, social responsibility, and leadership in its students.
Afterwards, I met with Danny Tierza, who served in the IDF for 30 years. Danny is known as the "architect" of Israel's security fence, which has been successful in reducing terror attacks and suicide bombers from the West Bank. Danny took us to critical locations above and along the fence-line, including the major checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
In the afternoon, I headed to Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a series of official briefings on Iran, the neighboring Arab states, and U.S.-Israel relations.
I then went to the newly renovated Yad Vashem, which is the Jewish National Memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Needless to say, this proved incredibly moving, and led us to change our evening itinerary so that we could go to the Western Wall.
In the evening, we walked into Jerusalem's Old City, visited the Jewish Quarter and Western Wall, and finished with a tour of the Old City's Armenian Quarter.
All in all, Day 2 was an incredibly powerful day. Check back tomorrow for highlights of our travels to the Golan Heights, on the Syrian border.
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