A delegation of 30 Israeli high school student-athletes will visit the University of Notre Dame and South Bend on Wednesday (July 18) as part of the newly created U.S.-Israel ‘Citizenship Through Sports’ Youth Exchange Program.p. The visit will feature tours of the Notre Dame campus and the College Football Hall of Fame and a workshop on character, tolerance and citizenship to be conducted by faculty from Notre Dame’s Mendelson Center for Sport, Character&Culture.p. The Israeli students ? both Jews and Arabs ? are in the midst of a two-week stay in the United States that includes participation in a conference in Indianapolis, visits to five communities in the Midwest, and a three-day trip to New York City. While in South Bend, the Israelis will be joined by 30 local student-athletes.p. In addition to the tours and workshop, participating students will attend a luncheon hosted by South Bend Mayor Steve Luecke at the College Football Hall of Fame, take part in recreational activities at the O’Brien Recreation Center (321 E. Walnut St. in South Bend), and have dinner at the home of David and Barbara Lerman of South Bend. Local organizers of the visit include the city of South Bend, the Mendelson Center, and the Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley.p. In its first year, the U.S.-Israel ‘Citizenship Through Sports’ Youth Exchange Program was created as a means to use sports to promote values of tolerance and nonviolence. The program’s partners are the America-Israeli Friendship League, the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance, the NCAA, the National Federation of State High School Associations, the Academic Sport Association of Israel, and the Israeli Ministry of Education and Ministry of Science, Culture and Sport.
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