To the Touro student community:

Greetings from 35,000 feet. I write this on December 20 from seat 26B of El Al Flight 21, returning to JFK from Israel. I wanted to let you all know about my trip, because I have spent the past two days working on next summer's inaugural Israel study abroad program at the Mt. Scopus campus of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and everything looks extremely exciting.

First, I was able to visit Beit Maiersdorf, the Hebrew University Faculty Club, at which students in the program will be living and in which our classes will be held. Beit Maiersdorf is a mini-hotel run by the University, and each double room includes a desk for studying, Internet access, cable TV and a private bath. The conference rooms where we will hold classes are spacious and comfortable, and many of the rooms in the building offer amazing views of the Old City and the rest of Jerusalem. Beyond the joy of being able to roll out of bed 2 minutes before your morning class (or getting up a bit early for the daily breakfast buffet), Beit Maiersdorf is steps away from the University's cafes and shops (as well as the other students), and a nearby bus stop provides access to all of Jerusalem and the entire country. Beit Maiersdorf also has self-serve laundry facilities as well as its own coffee shop and dining room.

Next door to Mt. Scopus is the modern residential neighborhood of French Hill. Walking around there on Tuesday afternoon, I saw a pizzeria, a bakery, other food options and shops, a supermarket and even self-serve Blockbuster DVD rental machines. For observant Jewish students, there are at least 3 Orthodox synagogues in walking distance (2 on French Hill, 1 in the other neighboring area of Ramat Eshkol), and a Masorati (Conservative) synagogue also on French Hill. (I would be happy to find out about other religious options on request.) Closer to "home," our students will have the ability to pay a modest fee to use the University's Lerner Sports Complex, with pools and athletic and exercise equipment.

I also met with the Rothberg School for International Programs at Hebrew U. (with which some of you may be familiar through its 1-year undergraduate program). The people at Rothberg were very welcoming, and have offered our students access to the many extracurricular programs and trips Rothberg will be running for its own American and other foreign students during the summer. As we get closer to the summer, the list (and costs) for those programs will be available online.

On the academic side, all 5 of our classes are planned and scheduled, with each student being able to choose 1 2-week class and 2 4-week classes for a total of 6 credits. Each student will be granted access to the Internet as well as the University's computer lab, and the law library (in the Faculty of Law building, next to Beit Maiersdorf) will be open to our program's students for studying and reading.

I also wanted to say a word or two about the city of Jerusalem. Having spent 5 months at Hebrew U. as an undergraduate 20(!) years ago, I can tell you that Jerusalem is an amazing city in which to live and learn. From the city center and its Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall to the living history of the Old City to restaurants, museums, theater, music and even English language comedy shows, Jerusalem is beautiful, diverse, accessible, affordable, English-friendly and safe. While our class schedule needs to be fairly intense to fit in 6 credits in a month, we have also built in plenty of time for you to explore Jerusalem and the other areas within Israel.

Our brochure is going to the printer as I write, and the application should be available both on paper and online shortly. As we head into the winter intercession and then the spring semester, I hope that all of you who can will consider attending the Israel summer program, and inviting your friends at other law schools to do so as well. I look forward to living and studying with you on Mt. Scopus next summer. As they say in Israel, l'hitraot, meaning "See you!"

Prof. Ezor