Parts of Presidential Trip to Israel, Palestine, Jordan (March 20 - 23, 2013) - details

from Obama Food-orama coverage of Press Conference (March 2013):

To Shrine of the Book (Dead Sea Scrolls Museum) / Israel Museum / Ramallah Youth Center / Jerusalem Convention Hall - - -

Thursday March 21, 2013, the President will begin by going to the Israel Museum.  At the Israel Museum, he will view the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are a testament, of course, to the ancient Jewish connection to Israel and, frankly, a marvel that the Israelis have restored within the Israel Museum in a very substantial, impressive way.  So the President very much looks forward to the opportunity to see the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Following that, he’ll be visiting a technology exposition, also at the museum, in which he’ll be able to see some of the remarkable signs and technological progress that’s been made within Israel, some of the remarkable innovation that is helping to fuel the Israeli economy and, frankly, the global economy.  And it’s also the foundation of significant U.S. and Israeli economic cooperation.  And I think, again, seeing the ancient connection through the Dead Sea Scrolls and then the future that is being forged in Israel through the technology exposition I think will be a very powerful experience.

Following that, the President will travel to Ramallah.  In Ramallah, he will have a bilateral meeting with President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority.  And then the two leaders will have a press conference and then they’ll have a working lunch together.  Again, the United States has supported the significant institution-building that the Palestinian Authority has undertaken in the West Bank.  It’s a chance to discuss our continued support for the PA, as well as to discuss ways to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace going forward.

Following the working lunch, the President will join Prime Minister Fayyad at the Al-Bireh Youth Center, also in Ramallah.  Again, this is an opportunity for the President to see firsthand some of the work that’s being done to develop institutions on the West Bank, and also to meet with a range of Palestinian young people and hear directly from them as well.  So that will complete that portion of his time in Ramallah.

Then he will go to the Jerusalem International Convention Center later that afternoon, where he will deliver a speech to the Israeli people.  The speech -- frankly, the President very much wanted to have the opportunity to speak not just to Israelis, but to Israeli young people, so we've worked to help build a crowd that will bring in a significant number of Israeli university students from the many universities that our embassy partners with within Israel.

http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2013/03/transcript-white-house-press-briefing.html