YITZHAK NAVON CENTER FOR A SHARED SOCIETY

Beyond the walls “It is landscape and nature and ideology intertwined, and it is in this combination that we find our identity. Who we are becomes evident at Neot Kedumim.” Yitzhak Navon What lies beyond the buildings comprising the YNC is also integral to the Center. In 1964, Yitzhak Navon, along with Nogah Hareuveni, founded Neot Kedumim, a Biblical landscape of more than 600 acres (2,400 dunam) alive with activity. With the foothills of Jerusalem stretching in one direction and the coastal plain of Tel Aviv-Jaffa in the other, those who imagined this park into being envisioned it as bridging the distance between the ancient and the modern by telling the story of how the teachings, values and symbols of Judaism literally grew out of the connection between the Jewish people and its homeland. Today it is a recreational nature reserve, inviting visitors to celebrate the environment and ecology of the Bible with all of their senses through any of the myriad programs on offer, among them: Trails of biblical plants illuminating Israel as the Land of Milk and Honey; Rabbinic tales of wisdom revolving around the date palm, the almond tree, and the hyssop; Time travel through discovery of ancient cisterns and oil and wine presses; Sheep herding, tree planting and biblical culinary repasts. Designed in harmony with its surroundings, the YNC and Neot Kedumim will synergistically give birth to a stimulating campus whose hundreds of thousands of annual visitors will not only be enticed to explore who they are against the background of the past but also be inspired to take part in writing the next chapter of Israel’s unfolding story. EMBRACING THE CHALLENGE

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