By Adar
Though I’m not leaving Israel for another week and a half, and I won’t be in the United States for another month, my semester is over and this is my last written reflection on my time abroad, for now.
Before I came to Israel, I had already known quite a bit about it. My family has been here for generations, and I grew up visiting every couple of years. But at the end of the semester, I realize that I really knew nothing five months ago. I have learned so much, both through my history and politics classes and through going out into society, that I have such a different concept of what it means to be Israeli, Jewish, or just someone in the Middle East. Israel is a combination of so many things: the politics of the region, the history of a nation, the ethnic clashes of humanity, the growth and development of western society in the 21st century, the search for spirituality, and the intense blending of traditions from all over the world.
It’s a country that is misunderstood by everyone, even those who live here, and I don’t pretend to be any different. But from what I’ve been able to observe, Israel is not a violent country. It’s a country filled with scared people, who put up intense psychological and military defense mechanisms to protect themselves. There are people in Israel who are fanatic, and in many different directions. There are people who do not believe in peace because they have never known it. There are those who are perpetually optimistic and those who really couldn’t care less about anyone else and who just want peace and quiet in their lives. Sound any different from anywhere else?
I think I’ve developed in three particular ways this semester. I’ve become much more aware of nationalism and ethnic-centered nations. In general, all around the world, people are organized by their national identity. Whereas in America, where nearly everyone has a mix of half a dozen places in their personal history, most of the world people have been from one place forever. Norwegians have been Norwegians since Thor. Bulgarians have been in the same place since the Macedonians. Most nations are based on a general shared location, and therefore similar influences through the turns of history. But of course, the obnoxious outliers as we are, Jews are different. They used to be together, in one place, living as normally as any other nation. But in 70 CE, Jews were forced out by the Roman Empire from Jerusalem and scattered all around the world. The Romans did that sometimes. A lot has happened since 70 CE. Civilizations have risen and fallen. Species on earth have changed and been discovered. Time has passed and the entire world looks different. But Jews have remained Jews that whole time, all over the world. This semester in Israel, exploring it and living in it, has made me realize more than I ever have, that Jews are still a nation. I definitely didn’t feel connected to it before coming here. But Jews have a common history and shared experience, regardless of religion or location. That’s something amazing. I don’t know of many other completely dispersed nations that are in fact still connected. But the creation of the State of Israel has opened a place for the nation of Jews to come back together, a couple thousand years later. I have no particular judgment of one nation over another, of course, and I have no patience for religious zealots or fanatics, or anyone who mentions the phrase “chosen people” which I personally find grossly disgusting. But I do think the phenomenon is amazing.
The second change this semester, and probably more relevant to my own life, is my developing thirst for adventure. Because I’ve been abroad, and everything is new and different, I can comfortably say that I’ve gone well out of my way to take as many opportunities to explore as I could. I’ve gotten a chance to do so much and go to so many incredible places, that I have caught the travel bug and caught it badly. That’s why I’m not leaving just yet, and why I’m traveling back to the states with a stopover in the UK for a couple of weeks. There’s just so much to see and so much to do! Exploring, even on a basic day to day level, has become such a part of me that I know I’ll come back to DC with the same drive to see every inch of it.
Which brings me to my third point. I think spending a significant amount of time in a different country, any country, has the distinct ability to make you realize how little you actually matter. There are billions of people out there. Billions. Who all have lives that are just as important as mine is. And there are so many ways that people spend their time and behave toward one another. We will never be able to know about every culture or every tradition. We will never understand the way that everyone thinks. And it’s amazing. The world is so big. Every day there are monumental events going on all over the world, and they’re only monumental because our scopes are so limited. This semester I didn’t pay nearly as much attention to the US as I would have had I been there. And that’s ok, because there’s so much more out there than we have time or ability to pay attention to. I think immersing yourself in a different setting is a very humbling experience, and I have become a much more accepting and aware person because of it.
I’m sad to leave Israel, but I know I’ll be back. I look forward to starting up my fall semester as a Junior, all the more knowledgeable and well traveled, in DC.