New York, NY, March 9, 2012 … A group of influential Latino media executives, publishers, editors and reporters from New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, D.C. are on an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) mission in Israel that aims to give Spanish-language media executives a fuller understanding of Israeli society, culture, politics and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The 14 participants in the ADL Latino Media Executives Mission to Israel are spending eight days in Israel, March 3-10, visiting places of religious, political and historical importance and meeting with Israeli and American media executives and journalists, non-profit organizations, representatives from the Israeli government, members of the Knesset, Holocaust survivors, Palestinians, Bedouins, and Arab Israelis.

Among the participants in the mission are Dr. Aliza Lifshitz, editor-in-chief of Vida y Salud, and medical correspondent for Univision, ImpreMedia, People en Español, and Ser Padres; Jose Fernando Lopez, chief editor of PODER Magazines, a Hispanic business publication; Jose Luis Rodriguez, CEO and President of  Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network; and Julissa Marenco, President of ZGS Station Group. The mission also includes Hispanic media executives from New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington D.C.

"This mission is of the utmost importance because the Spanish-language media in the United States play such an important role in shaping how Spanish speakers view Israel, the Middle East, and the Israel-Palestinian conflict," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "This select group of prominent media executives will learn first-hand about the complexities of the region and to better understand the history and culture of this country by meeting with Israeli politicians and journalists and visiting important Israeli institutions."    

The media executives are visiting important Christian and Jewish holy sites, and traveling to various cities including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Tiberius, the Golan Heights, Safed, and Nazareth. They are touring the Knesset, Yad Vashem, the old city of Jerusalem, the Western Wall Tunnel, the Church of Nativity, a settlement, and the security fence that separates Israel and the West Bank.

News organizations represented on the mission include Univision, ImpreMedia, People en Español, Ser Padres, FoxNews Latino, Vida y Salud, Heart and Soul Magazine, PODER Magazines, ZGS Station Group, Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, and Media Moves.

In November 2011, ADL took a mission of Latino and Latin American journalists to Israel.