Mayor Yahav welcomed Ambassador Shapiro to a full-day’s visit to Haifa, briefing him on his city’s impressive projects, which are turning Israel’s largest northern city into a leader in transportation, culture, and high-tech. Following a visit to American-Israeli high-tech leader G.E. Healthcare, the Ambassador visited MadaTech, Israel’s National Museum of Science, Technology & Space, where he met schoolchildren enjoying the newly inaugurated Noble Energy Science Park, and even tried some of the rides himself. At the University of Haifa, President Aaron Ben-Ze’ev and the Student’s Union organized the first-ever “American Day.” The highlight of the university visit was Ambassador Shapiro’s Town Hall meeting on “U.S. – Israel Relations and Regional Issues in a Changing World,” where the students questioned him at length. Mayor Yahav closed out the eventful day at Beit Hagefen Arab-Jewish Cultural Center, where the Ambassador met with religious leaders representing the Christian and Muslim Arab, Jewish, and Baha’i faiths, who credited Haifa municipality’s active support for dialogue and cooperation among the different religious groups with Haifa’s success as a mixed city.

Photo credit: Matty Stern/U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv