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| Above: from front row left, Hanieh Bahmanpour, Yasmeen Murtaja, Shahrad Mottahedeh, Jeremy Appel. Standing, Professor Saeed Rahnema, Professor Haideh Moghissi, Dean Martin Singer and Associate Dean Narda Razak |
As part of a cooperation agreement between York University and Al-Quds University (see YFile July 25, 2011), and the Internationalization strategic plan of York's Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, a team of students and faculty members visited Jerusalem, Abu Dis and several other Palestinian cities in the West Bank and Israel, between Feb. 16 and 25.
The team included Hanieh Bahmanpour, a graduate student in York's Public Policy, Administration & Law Program, Yasmeen Murtaja, Jeremy Appel and Shahrad Mottahedeh, all political science majors, Professor Saeed Rahnema, coordinator of the York/Al-Quds project, and Professor Haideh Moghissi, who joined the trip for her own research project.
The four students in the team had all taken the political science and equity studies course, "War and Peace in the Middle East", taught by Rahnema, and were visiting the region for the first time. They were unanimous in finding the trip an amazing 
educational experience.
Right: From left, Professor Haideh Moghissi, Al-Quds University Acting President Marwan Awartani, Professor Saeed Rahnema and Al-Quds Executive Vice-President Hasan Dweik
Along with the students' visit, several meetings took place with Al-Quds University authorities to discuss different aspects of the collaborative agreements. Among them were meetings related to the establishment of a stream in public policy and administration in their Department of Political Science and plans for the establishment of degree programs in this field.
Al-Quds University is also collaborating in a plan to establish a National School of Administration for the General Personnel Council (equivalent of Public Service Commission) of the Palestinian National Authority, and Rahnema will be an adviser for both institutions.