On Saturday the 25th of June I together with my wife Souhaila, joined by invitation from President Najeeb Kattouf of Nazareth Illit Rotary Club and his wife Freeda to travel with them to Jericho for a weekend trip that also included several other members from the same club.
Purpose of the trip was to strengthen friendship among members of the club and to meet some of the members of the Palestine Rotary Clubs with whom we joined together in a Ramadan Iftar at the Oasis Hotel in Jericho.
After the Iftar we all moved to a small meeting room in the hotel where President Najeeb announced the start of a joint meeting together with the few members of the Palestine Rotary Clubs.
Among the Palestinian guests there was Past President Nader Dajjani, co sponosor of both Ramallan and Al Bireh Clubs, Asistant District 2452 Governor Shawci Abu Ghazaleh, President of the Ramallah Club Murad Awartani, President of Elbireh Club Khalil Ghanaim and several other members including one from the East Jerusalem Club Professor Khuloud Dajjani, Dean of the school of Family and Children Medecine at Jerusalem University.
Najeeb Kattouf, President of the Rotary Club of Nazareth Illit, talked about his club mentioning in few words about his plans and projects and looking forward for good relations between the clubs of Palestine and the club of Nazareth Illit.
Past President Nader Dajjani welcomed all present and described briefly the relation between the Amman Clubs and Nazareth Club as having the same father relating that the late Mr. Baz Kawar was one of the founders of the club of Nazareth and its first president. Also the same Baz Kawar was the founder of the first Club in Amman and its first president.
Assistant District Governor Shawci Abu Ghazaleh welcomed such meetings hoping that there will be more on both sides, then he mentioned about the future plans of the district. President Murad of Ramallah also welcomed such meetings and talked about his club.
PDG Yusef Srouji mentioned about how in the nineties together with PDG Neumann of the club of Jerusalem West worked earnestly to revive the club of Ramallah with the help of one of its old members, the late Johny Sudah and how the project failed because the World Rotary President then. Carlo Ravizza, at the end, sent his refusal because he did not want any more undistricted areas in rotary.
The last speaker was Prof. Khuloud Dajjani who also commented favorably on such meetings hoping to have more of them to the benefit of all.
At the end of the meeting, there was club banner exchanges between P. Najeeb and Ramallah and Bireh presidents whom he hoped to see in Nazareth Illit as soon as possible.
The next day Sunday part of the Nazareth Group went to visit the Quarantal Monastery while another smaller group went to a home visit of a friend of rotary member, Asaad Tannous, Mr Charley Saleh, who after the visit insisted to follow him in our car as he drove out of Jericho and at the end discovered that he took us to the boarder area with Jordan near the BAPTISM spot that was recently opened for the public, and there we saw several cars and a bus with tourists coming to be baptized in the River Jordan.
At five in the afternoon we met in the hotel lobby and from there drove back home to Nazareth after a weekend of pleasure and activity.
