Rabbi Mendy Carlebach, of the Chabad of North and South Brunswick, stands in the background while Gov. Chris Christie and the Jersey to Jerusalem delegation tour the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem on April 2 with Robert Rozett (r), director of the Yad Vashem Libraries. PHOTOS COURTESY OF TIM LARSEN OF GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIES OFFICE Rabbi Mendy Carlebach, of the Chabad of North & South Brunswick, accompanied Gov. Chris Christie on his recent trip to Israel.
The governor began his visit in the Old City of Jerusalem, the holy site of the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, on April 2.
Christie then went with his family to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his offices, and rejoined the delegation for a group dinner before departing early to meet again for a private dinner at the residence of the prime minister.
The following morning, the governor and delegation met with President Shimon Peres at the presidential residence, followed by an emotional tour of theYad Vashem Holocaust Museum.
Asher Afriat, founder and CEO of the Israel Seminar travel company, gives Gov. Chris Christie, first lady Mary Pat Christie and the Israel delegation a tour of the Western Wall in Jerusalem on April 2. Later in the day, the group met at Better Place, an electric car program headquarters that has stations throughout Israel.
Christie also met with other business leaders, including the chief executive officer of Teva Pharmaceuticals, visited a school, and got a helicopter tour by senior members of the Israel Defense Forces.
On the morning of April 4, a delegation breakfast with Daniel Shapiro, the United States ambassador to Israel, was held in a private dining room at the King David Hotel.
“I feel that the trip was a major success for the governor and the delegation. As a member of the New Jersey- Israel Commission, our mission is to enhance trade and ties between New Jersey and Israel, and that is exactly what we did,” Carlebach said. “All in all, as a rabbi and a lifelong resident of the state of New Jersey, I felt proud to be alongside our governor on his first foreign trip, particularly when he visited holy sites in Israel. To pray at the Western Wall, to take in the sights ofYad Vashem and just being in the Holy Land before a very special time in our calendar has deep meaning.”
Rabbi Mendy Carlebach (far left) of the Chabad of North and South Brunswick joins the governor and the Israel delegation on a tour of the Western Wall in Jerusalem.