The exact time for each activity will be announced by your tour staff. In order to take full advantage of opportunities that may arise, the order of activities or the time of events may change.

I have had the privilege of developing professional relationships in Israel, including visits, consultations and training with multidisciplinary groups of child abuse professionals developing and operating CACs in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. I have also had the privilege of meeting with academicians in Women’s Studies who were eager to learn and share knowledge of best practices in addressing domestic and sexual violence.

I have been inspired and fascinated by both the similarities and differences in our respective approaches to our work and have learned a great deal about the social, political, religious and cultural issues they face in addressing issues of violence against women and children. I also have very deep personal connections, family and friends, in Israel, and no matter how many times I have visited there, I continue to be awed by the inspiring historic, cultural, and religious sites and the country’s breathtaking natural beauty.

Following the delegation’s return, a journal documenting the professional meetings and activities will be provided to each participant. The opportunity to give a presentation as part of your participation can also be accommodated as part of the professional program and as a complement to the topics of discussion.

We will meet with our counterparts, participate in intimate dialogue and social events and experience the rich culture of Israel during our eight day program. We will visit Tel Aviv, Haifa, Tiberias, and Jerusalem.

I encourage you to invite a companion to share this unique experience with you if at all possible. A parallel program focused on the culture of Israel will be arranged for your accompanying guest while you attend the professional sessions. Activities for guests will include visits to historical and cultural sites for an opportunity to explore many aspects of Israeli culture and customs. An optional excursion, after the main program, will take participating delegates and guests to Jordan to visit the historic ruins of Petra, a truly amazing experience. The itinerary for the optional extension will be sent with your team member confirmation.

Elem
Founded in 1981, Elem provides homes and services to runaway, homeless, or neglected Arab and Jewish youth in order to help them become productive citizens. Nearly thirty years later, Elem has grown to include locations in 30 towns, and annually helps an average of 12,000 youth. Since its creation, Elem has also developed the Children of the Night project which helps to prevent sexual exploitation of minors by providing a day center and counseling services for youth as well as working to raise public awareness of adolescent prostitution.

Eli – Israel Association for Child Protection from Abuse and Neglect
Since its creation in 1979, Eli has been recognized by the government of Israel as the only Israeli organization to address exclusively all aspects of child abuse. A variety of shelter and therapy services are offered not only to children, but to adults with a history of childhood abuse, as well as abusive parents needing to overcome their problem. Eli also prides itself on being a single-stop comprehensive service. “Families receive therapy, legal counseling, shelter and whatever other support services are needed without having to go from agency to agency.”

Beit HaShanti
Beit HaShanti (or house of peace, calm, and love) was first founded by Miriam (Mariuma) Klein in 1984. Klein began by sheltering street children within her home and helping them gain the skills needed to be successful. Over the years, this simple effort has expanded into a nationally recognized home for at-risk youth, which serves as a temporary shelter as well as a long term framework. Beit HaShanti also works to implement preventative measures in the community to help reduce the 300,000 street children who are still at immediate risk of physical violence, sexual abuse, criminality, prostitution, and other dangers.

Orr-Shalom
Israel’s largest non-profit organization, Orr-Shalom provides residential and therapeutic services for children who have been removed from abusive or neglectful homes. Children have access to services from birth through eighteen years of age and are given nurturing, one-on-one treatment suited to each child’s needs. Orr-Shalom has worked with children from all ethnic and religious backgrounds for nearly three decades in an attempt to break the cycle of violence and create productive, independent adults.

Beit Lynn Child Protection
Located in Jerusalem, Beit Lynn Child Protection services assists Israeli children who have been victims of abuse. Often abuse investigations are lengthy and cause further harm to the child. Beit Lynn strives to expedite the abuse diagnosis process and quickly place children into a safe, therapeutic environment. Professionals also provide immediate intervention services if necessary while working alongside pediatricians, child protection officers, social workers, and other professionals.

Janet Fine has a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Cornell University and a masters degree in Criminal Justice from Northeastern University. She has been at the forefront of victim rights and services and innovative responses to child victims of abuse throughout her 26 years in the field. She has also participated in community crisis response efforts, most notably, as a member of the National Crisis Response Team from MA that responded to Ground Zero in New York in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Since 2002, Janet has been serving as the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance, an independent state agency whose mission is to promote and advance victim rights and services through direct victim services, policy, legislation, funding and grants management, professional training, community outreach and education, management of the SAFEPLAN Program (the statewide domestic violence court advocacy program) and SANE services. She is also a founder of the Massachusetts Victim Assistance Academy.

From 1992 to 2002, she served as the Chief of the Victim Witness Assistance Program of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in Boston. In 1993, she spearheaded the development and became the Founding Director of the Suffolk County Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC).

From 1983 to 1992, she worked in the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, first as a Victim Witness Advocate and then as Deputy Chief of the Victim Witness Service Bureau. She also co-founded and co-directed the Child Abuse Prosecution Unit, a multidisciplinary program for the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases, the first prosecutor-based CAC in the state.

On the national front, she is currently serving on the National Children’s Alliance (NCA) Board of Directors, at a prior time having served as Chair of the NCA Board’s Standards for Membership Committee which developed the national accreditation standards.

Ms. Fine chairs the Massachusetts Children’s Alliance (MACA) Board, and serves on the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual and Domestic Violence, the Governor’s Anti-Crime Council, the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program Advisory Board, among others.

Ms. Fine is a part-time faculty member at Northeastern University’s College of Criminal Justice, and has provided training and consultation locally, nationally, and internationally to survivors, victim advocates, health and mental health care providers, criminal justice professionals, judges, among others.