On November 23 2017, KAS Israel and the Center for the Study of European Politics and Society at the Ben-Gurion University of Negev, hosted a one-day study and information day on "German Tracks in Tel Aviv: From Sarona to German Diplomacy." The program began in Sarona, Tel Aviv's historic German Templar colony, which was founded in 1871 by the German Templars and flourished for decades as one of the leading agricultural colony.The first visit was made to the Sarona - Hakirya Visitors' Center to witness the history of the German Templars in Israel. Following the museum visit, Paule Rakower, tour guide of the city of Tel Aviv, led the group through the now restored former colony. The group was led through cafes, shops, a food market, a former bakery, the olive oil press as well as the old post office, which display the German life in Sarona.

As a second program point, the group had a lunch meeting with representatives of the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP) at the Swiss Residence in Ramat Gan. After an introduction about the YPFP, Vincent Laurent, a diplomatic staff member at the Swiss Embassy, presented the Swiss Embassy and its work in Israel. Furthermore, he highlighted the cooperation in the following areas: politics, business, science & innovation, and culture. Vanessa Kacherginsky, deputy director-general of the Jerusalem Press Club, gave an overview of the press club as a non-governmental organization. The main purpose of the JPC is to provide a balanced flow of information to the Israeli foreign press, to hold press briefings and press tours, and to organize events and programs such as the Freedom of the Press Conference.

The third speaker, Lapid Levi, Legislative and Parliamentary Advisor to Knesset MP Dr. Nachman Shai (Havoda), emphasized the importance of international relations, especially EU-Israel relations, which require more engagement and mutual understanding. Rocco Polin, a member of the Political and Press Section at the Delegation of the European Union to Israel, assessed the EU-Israel relationship to be relatively good.

The third program point took the students to the German Embassy in Tel Aviv. At the German Embassy, the students met Mr. Martin Giese, First Secretary in the Political Department of the German Embassy, to discuss past and present German-Israeli relations. Mr. Giese gave the group a detailed presentation of the German Embassy, its tasks, and his personal area of responsibility. In addition to the reception of German delegations, further central tasks at the political department of the embassy include: the analysis of the press, discussions with key persons in politics in Israel as well as the assessment and communication of the Israeli-German situation. The introductory briefing was followed by a roundtable where participants could ask questions on all current political developments concerning the German-Israeli relations.

At the end of the study and information day, the students gathered in the beer garden in Sarona to reflect on the contents of the day and to evaluate the program.