We started off our day again in the beautiful Beresheet Hotel in Mitzpe Ramon, a small place but so full of beautiful wonders.
We visited the Ilan Ramon museum, which celebrates the life of astronaut Ilan Ramon and his adventurous spirit. How he always wanted to break out of boundaries, which is related to one of the reasons for our visit in Israel, to see how we all can break out of our boundaries, G-d willing in a way filled with life.
From there we traveled in order to understand a lot of what happens in the Negev desert by meeting with Bedouins, who used to be nomadic but recently have begun settling in villages. We went to one of their large villages and met with a group of women who are trying to empower women within the Muslim society to take more control over their lives. We also met with some of their legal team who have been educating the women on their legal rights, and how they can use their rights to stand up for themselves and deal with the difficult issues they face. I was impressed with their courage and faith.
Then we left to Jerusalem, and entered the beautiful and bustling holy city, heading straight for the Knesset. We spent a special hour with Member of Knesset Ayelet Shaked who is the head of the New Right party and was the Minister of Justice for many years. She is a very articulate and passionate person. She shared many of the meaningful changes within the justice system that she was part of. She spoke about her work and her view of Israel's position within the world and how she sees it going forward. She was filled with praise for the Canadian people and our system of governance and justice.
Then we checked in to the beautiful new Orient Hotel in the Emek Refaim section of Jerusalem. It overlooks the Old City walls.
We went to dinner, where we heard from Sarit Shemer, COO of Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center, one of the most incredible organizations. They fight terror through legal means. They are one of the most creative NGOs who have helped fight terror by stopping the funding and suing terrorist organizations and those backing them in western countries around the world, including in Canada. They have been successful in making a big dent in some of the terror infrastructure, and it was incredible to see their creativity in how they apply the laws to fighting terror. They have won many cases and won money for victims of terror and their families. We were inspired by them, and as a group donated to them.
That's all for today. It was a great day. Onward and forward!
