On April 6 - 11, 2019 Grigorij Mesežnikov attended a study trip to Israel as a member of the Visegrad Leaders group along with other experts and journalists from Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The visit was organized by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) as part of its "Project Interchange" program.
The aim of the trip was to get the updated knowledge on the current developments in Israel and in the Middle East, to better understand the context of domestic political development in a democratic Jewish state (including the parliamentary elections that were held during the stay of experts), to evaluate the relations between Israel and neighboring Arab countries, the causes and circumstances of the conflict in Palestine, the prospects for possible approaches to addressing this long-standing conflict, as well as the diverse internal and external contexts of Israel's existence and its place in the contemporary world.
During their stay in Israel, members of the group visited Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other locations, they also visited Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority's administrative center. In the framework of the program, they heard numerous lectures and presentations and had the opportunity to discuss with leading Israeli academicians, experts, politicians, journalists, diplomats and representatives of local administrations (in Ramallah with representatives of local expert and business communities).
After returning to Slovakia, IVO president took part in discussion on results and possible consequences of parliamentary elections in Israel, organized by weekly magazine .týžden [Week] (.glób: Post-election Israel in the hands of the record holder Bibi. Will be the Israeli-Palestinian conflict sharper?). Together with him, Andrej Matišák (daily Pravda), Mirek Tóda (daily Denník N) and Matúš Dávid (weekly .týžden, moderator) discussed – all were participants of the “AJC Project Interchange” study trip.
Discussion can be assessed on .týžden webpage (podcast): https://www.tyzden.sk/svet/54880/globus-povolebny-izrael-v-rukach-rekordmana-bibiho-vyostri-sa-izraelsko-palestinsky-konflikt/?ref=tit
On May 11, 2019, IVO president discussed issues related to Israel and the situation in the Middle East at the cultural and social event organized by the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (ICEJ) on occasion of Israel's Independence Day. Along with him, Igor Rintel, chairman of the Central Union of the Jewish Religious Communities in Slovakia, František Šebej, foreign policy analyst and essayist and Marek Krajčí, MP, attended the discussion. The discussion was moderated by Peter Švec (ICEJ).
