July 11, 2000 – Gems in Israel, an award-winning online travel resource dedicated to Israel’s lesser-known tourist attractions announced today that it has reached a licensing and joint cooperation agreement with the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE). According to the agreement, AICE will have the rights to reproduce full text articles from Gems in Israel, which will be integrated into JSOURCE, the world's most comprehensive online Jewish encyclopedia. Articles will also be linked to AICE’s Virtual Israel Experience.

According to AICE's Executive Director, Mitchell G. Bard, Ph.D., AICE chose Gems in Israel because, "We want to offer our users the best information available on all aspects of Israeli history and culture and Gems provides well-written stories about many of the sites others miss. Visitors who take our virtual tour can now become familiar with not only all the major cities and sites in Israel, but many of the lesser known ones – the ‘Gems' of Israel."

The award-winning Gems in Israel is the leading online resource for people who are interested in seeing more than just the major tourist attractions in Israel. Published monthly, issues do not attempt cover an area in a comprehensive manner, but rather to spotlight special off the beaten path attractions, or Gems. The site features the places and people that make up the extremely rich fabric of Israel’s diverse and beautiful landscape. Readers may subscribe free of charge to Gems in Israel’s monthly issues, which are delivered via email. At present, Gems in Israel has subscribers from 35 countries. Past issues are viewable in the online archive.

AICE’s Virtual Israel Experience (http://www.israeltour.org/) was created to introduce students to Israel before their departure and to further stimulate them when they return. One element that makes this tour unique is that it is linked to the award-winning Jewish Student Online Research Center (JSOURCE).

The Virtual Israel Experience uses photographs and explanatory text and documents associated with cities and sites in Israel to give students a sense of being in the Holy Land. Students can follow a specific tour or go on their own to the cities they're most interested in. They can also choose a "major" to learn more about Jewish history, religion, politics, archaeology, society and culture and then take a quiz to test their knowledge of Israeli history.

Yael Zisling, Publisher of Gems in Israel said, “AICE offers a rich online resource on a variety of Israeli and Jewish subjects. Cooperating with AICE will provide more people with access to our own offering, while enabling our readers to delve even deeper into subjects that interest them. At Gems in Israel, the basic premise is that you can’t really get to know a country, just by visiting the major tourist attractions. We also believe that understanding the country’s history is important. AICE provides a source of important information that is a great extension of Gems in Israel’s own offering. It is a great fit.”

Gems in Israel (http://www.GemsinIsrael.com) is an award-winning online resource for people interested in seeing more than just the major tourist attractions, the Gems. It is geared at seasoned, first-time visitors to Israel and anyone who dreams of one day visiting the Holy Land. Free email subscriptions of its monthly issues, are available by registering at http://www.GemsinIsrael.com/subscribe.html.

AICE, the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, (http://www.us-israel.org/) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization created in 1993 to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship by emphasizing the fundamentals of the alliance-the values that the two nations share.
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