US delegates will be honored as guests of Israel’s president at opening session and later attend groundbreaking ceremonies for a new day care center.

NA’AMAT USA will send a delegation of more than 30 members to the annual NA’AMAT International Conference scheduled for February 10-16 in Israel. The delegation will be led by national president Elizabeth Raider and will include national officers and representatives from chapters across the United States. The NA’AMAT USA delegation will be honored as special guests of the President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, during the conference’s opening session on February 10. Raider will address the group on behalf of NA’AMAT USA and 8 sister countries.

Raider said that the International Conference provides a unique opportunity to engage with NA’AMAT members from around the world. “It is a time to renew old friendships and make new ones,” she observed. “We look forward to witnessing, firsthand, the important work that NA’AMAT is doing in Israel, to meeting Israel’s political leaders and to visiting many historic sites.”

The NA’AMAT International Conference will bring together leaders of NA’AMAT Israel and its nine sister organizations around the globe. The 7-day conference will feature events in locations across Israel, including groundbreaking ceremonies for a new day care center in Beersheba, a project sponsored by NA’AMAT USA in memory of its past national president, Alice Howard. Other highlights will include a day at the Glickman Center, for the prevention and treatment of domestic violence; a special evening in the Ayanot Youth Village, one of NA’AMAT’s boarding schools; and a day in Jerusalem, where NA’AMAT USA will be guests of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

In addition to attending these special events, delegates will gather to discuss key issues confronting Israel, women and families, and NA’AMAT’s role in meeting those challenges. For members of NA’AMAT USA, the conference will provide an exciting opportunity to experience the fruits of the organization’s efforts to promote gender equality and to help women with childcare, legal and family issues, domestic violence, and employment issues. “These are exciting times for NA’AMAT and for Israel,” said Raider. “NA’AMAT International continues to lead in the struggle for equality and to improve the lives of women and children.”

The NA’AMAT International Conference will be followed by a two-day meeting of the World Zionist Organization, which will include representatives of leading Jewish organizations worldwide. NA’AMAT national president Elizabeth Raider and national treasurer Debra Kohn will serve as delegates. National fundraising vice president Janet Gurvitch and Judith Sokoloff, editor of NA’AMAT Woman magazine, will attend as observers.