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Tag: Israel

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By Mikayla Brody

It seems like every time I tell a friend or family member that I will be studying abroad in Israel for the Fall, they don't understand why I would have any desire to go there, let alone live there. And, partially, I don't blame them. They see what their television or phone screen chooses to show them: a war-torn, barren desert rampant with crazed terrorists and terrorists-to-be. But these headlines neglect to depict the bigger picture. They forget to include the enchanting emptiness of the desert or the colorful clutter and languages of the souks. They forget to include the people.

And yet, we often let these headlines frame our judgement on a region that we don't know anything about and have never actually experienced. Many of us simply accept the narrative that others feed to us and are fine with that. It's easy to do- we then don't have to go to the trouble of meeting people ourselves and gathering our own information and challenging our paradigm.

This is all to say that our current political situation and relations with the Middle East are actually all the more reason to travel there. With a growing lack of understanding between Arabic and Western people, I believe the best way to build this understanding is by showing up. Showing who you are and asking questions and seeking to understand a different way of life. Maybe you'll see that some clichés are true or maybe that some are not so true. Maybe you'll see that your peers' judgement was correct or maybe not so correct. But no matter what, you're making a connection.

You're putting a face and a family to a headline, something you can relate to and understand. Egypt is no longer its government structure or its ancient pyramids -- it's the people you've met along the way. The Middle East is no longer a blurry photo of a terrorist on the news, but a cook with a collection of vintage vases and lanterns or hotel owner who accidentally tripped on the stairs and bruised his rib. We have the opportunity to actually see the people.

And it works both ways... the United States is no longer Trump's America or McDonalds, but a collection of diverse human people just trying to love well and do good. These stereotypes don't have to dictate the way we perceive other people and the resentment that these stereotypes carry doesn't have to be there.

We choose to base our stereotypes on what separates us from others. They're Muslims, we're Christians. They're darker-skinned, we're lighter-skinned. They, we. But what would happen if we chose to look at the similarities? How would our relationship with others change if we saw others first as humans, parents, children, teachers, artists, lovers? Maybe at some point along the way, we'll realize we have more in common with each other than we do differences. Maybe we'll realize that the parts of us that we have in common matter more. But this doesn't happen without being present, physically and mentally.

We've tried a politics of capital gains and stepping on others' toes, maybe its time to start a more human form of politics - a politics of civilian diplomacy. By traveling to another country, whether you intend to or not, you're representing a piece of your country. We have the power to make a good impression and facilitate a greater universal compassion. But it will take more than a bunch of lawyers in government buildings. It requires individuals seeking an honest connection with other individuals and developing a mutual respect.

So why now? Well, why not now? It's easy to put things off for a better time. "I'll travel when it's more politically stable" or "I start practicing yoga when I can touch my toes" or "I'll learn a new language when I have more time." There will always be an excuse to delay somewhere you've been wanting to go or something you've been wanting to try, not necessarily because there is a better time but because it's easier to stick with the status quo.

To place yourself in a new and potentially uncomfortable situation, like traveling to a lesser-travelled area, is often super daunting and the mind would love to keep you in a space of sheltered routine. So our task is to mindfully decide when we should override this self-protection mechanism and just go for it. There's no time like the present, especially when the present gives us such a huge opportunity to mend broken connections.

So yes, this is also why I chose to study abroad in the Middle East. Not because I am from here, or have extensively studied it in my university classes, but because it's the corner of the world I know the least about. I'm here to learn and absorb and meet people and be really uncomfortable for a bit. I've been in Israel for about 5 days now just kind of soaking it all in before the hectic-ness of my program starts and holy heck I'm scared. I've had my fair share of freakouts, wondering if I made a huge mistake dedicating myself to this place for five months but I think that's the good stuff. I'm ready to be uncomfortable and just see what comes up.

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By Jacqueline Mai

I’ve spent nearly 3 weeks in Israel, and each Shabbat experience has been different. After the first week, my roommate invited us to a Shabbat dinner on the lawn of a Hebrew University dorm, and I spent that Saturday walking around Jerusalem’s Old City and praying at the Western Wall. The following week, a few classmates and I embarked on a weekend excursion in which we explored Nazareth, Tiberias, the Sea of Galilee, Tzfat, Masada, Ein Gedi, and the Dead Sea. We ushered in Shabbat in Tzfat, making shakshuka in our small Airbnb kitchen. The next morning, we raced down the country to make it to Ein Gedi—a nature reserve—and Masada before both parks closed.

Though both weekends were memorable—in that they allowed for the fostering of friendships and exploration—they lacked the restfulness that is commonly associated with Shabbat. I realized that I craved time and aloneness for introspection, so I decided to spend my last Shabbat in a way that would make those things possible. Though I had only spent a very short amount of time in Tzfat—enough to walk around the Old City—I realized how much I liked it, and vowed to return. There was still so much to see. I also understood Tzfat to be a very spiritual city, home to respected Jewish mystics from centuries ago. As a person in the process of converting to Judaism, I felt that it would only be right that I spend the holiest of holidays in the one of the holiest of cities.

I arrived in Tzfat a little after noon on Friday, and checked into my hotel. My partner had suggested that I find a nice place for myself in order to feel some semblance of a vacation, so I opted for the Rosenthalis Hotel, which lies on the edge of Tzfat’s Artist Gallery. My room—which was atop a series of cobblestone steps, allowing me to see the rolling hills of the Galilee—contained curated paintings by Moshe Rosenthalis, an 20th century Lithuanian-Israeli abstract artist.

...continue reading "One last Shabbat in Tzfat"

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By Jacqueline Mai

The most difficult yet captivating exhibit installed in the Israel Museum is Christian Boltanski’s Lifetime. Sprawled across a series of large rooms, Lifetime’s motifs consist of massive, sheer curtains printed with close-up portraits of anonymous individuals (some lost in the Holocaust), black coats hung on makeshift mannequins, the ringing of windchimes, and tangled strings of lights. The eerie silence of the exhibit is only intermittently interrupted by the soundtrack of a subway conductor announcing imaginary stops. In addition, there is an enormous stopwatch attached to the wall, counting down.

Boltanski seemed to explore his own views of mortality—and by extension, memory—through his motifs. There are times throughout the exhibit in which the strings of lights connecting the victims’ portraits (symbolizing yahrzeit or memorial candles) were not lit—perhaps to signify how easy it is for the memory of a individual to evaporate, or not exist at all. Inversely, the close-up portraits of the victims’ eyes—printed on sheer white curtains—could also signify how easy it is to lose sight of the core components of the individual upon scrutiny. In his work, Boltanski asks how we can best uphold the memories of those who are no longer with us, and how we ourselves wish to be remembered.

(Lifetime is open at the Israel Museum until October 31, 2018).

...continue reading "Reflecting on Christian Boltanski’s Lifetime exhibit"

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By Jacqueline Mai

I intentionally arrived in Israel a day and a half earlier than the start date of my program in order to get a little exploring done. My flight touched down around midnight, and after a sleep-deprived taxi ride from Ben Gurion airport to my airbnb in Tel Aviv’s Ramat Hatayasim neighborhood—during which I was too tired to argue my way out of an overpriced ride—I  managed to get my first real night of sleep in almost 36 hours. There was no AC, but half a year in Vietnam during my youth had taught me to put up with a tiny fan and open windows.

I hadn’t made any real plans for what I’d do with my spare day in Tel Aviv, but I knew immediately when I woke that I wanted to go to the beach. My hosts were gracious enough to let me keep my bags in their home even though I had only paid for the previous night—and even allowed me to stay until 9pm—so I grabbed my camera, a water bottle, and a hat, and made my way to the bus stop right outside their apartment, which was on a major boulevard.

I had heard Israel had a relatively reliable and well-subsidized public transportation system, but I was extremely unprepared for just how excellent it was. Perhaps it was my few years of commuting daily on DC’s broken metro and bus system that caused me to be unfazed by—and even OK with—the occasionally tardiness of an Israeli ‘Dan’ bus. From what I experienced and read on maps, a lot of stops had buses arriving at around 10 to 15 minute intervals, and there are very few parts of Tel Aviv that are without easy access to public transportation. Many people without cars are also fond of electric bicycles and scooters; I had only seen the former in the US a handful of times, and the latter had only made its way stateside as a legitimate (albeit, laughable) form of transportation this past spring. Bike sharing systems in Tel Aviv are wildly affordable as well.

...continue reading "First Day in Israel: public transport, coffee, and flea markets"

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By reuben31

So, why Israel? In my first blog in this series, written all the way back in the beginning of February, I posed this question to myself. Prior to leaving, many of my friends asked me why I chose to study abroad in Israel. I always felt disingenuous in my answers. I would reply with some cliché about finding my Jewish identity, or experiencing what it really is like to live in Israel, but to be honest, I was not quite sure why exactly I had chosen to study in Israel. At the beginning of the semester, in the first blog I wrote, I hoped that by the end of the semester I might have an answer to this question. So here goes nothing.

As a Jewish person in the US, before my time in Israel, I saw my Jewish identity as a religion. But since being here I figured out that being Jewish is not a religion at all. It’s an identity, it’s a community, it’s an ethnicity, it’s a group of people with common thought and morals and values and language and slang. So, first, I chose Israel because Israel feels like home. As cliché as that may sound, studying here has provided me with a sense of security, even in a place that at times has been insecure. When I have travelled in Europe and felt homesick and alone, I didn’t crave to hear an American accent, I craved to hear Hebrew, or see a yarmulke. My Jewish identity was torn down to its core here in Israel and built up even stronger than it was prior.

Israel is more than what one hears in the news, from either side of the political spectrum. It is more than what lively campus groups from both arenas argue it to be on campus. It is more than the Arab-Israeli conflict, and it is more than just a Jewish homeland. Israel is a diverse, beautiful, vibrant, and unique country. It is a Jewish state, it is a democracy, it is surrounded on all sides by unstable war-torn countries, and yet, through all of this complexity, Israel is thriving. After generations of persecution and massacre, one might expect Israelis to be afraid, but they are simply not. They are strong and they are proud. So second, I chose Israel to sort through these complex issues and find a true understanding of what Israel actually is. I didn’t want to be told by the news or any group what to think of the State, and studying here this semester I have found, for myself, what Israel really is all about. And that connection and understanding that I have created with this place is something that will last with me for a lifetime.

...continue reading "So, why Israel?"

Published on

By reuben31

So, why Israel? In my first blog in this series, written all the way back in the beginning of February, I posed this question to myself. Prior to leaving, many of my friends asked me why I chose to study abroad in Israel. I always felt disingenuous in my answers. I would reply with some cliché about finding my Jewish identity, or experiencing what it really is like to live in Israel, but to be honest, I was not quite sure why exactly I had chosen to study in Israel. At the beginning of the semester, in the first blog I wrote, I hoped that by the end of the semester I might have an answer to this question. So here goes nothing.

As a Jewish person in the US, before my time in Israel, I saw my Jewish identity as a religion. But since being here I figured out that being Jewish is not a religion at all. It’s an identity, it’s a community, it’s an ethnicity, it’s a group of people with common thought and morals and values and language and slang. So, first, I chose Israel because Israel feels like home. As cliché as that may sound, studying here has provided me with a sense of security, even in a place that at times has been insecure. When I have travelled in Europe and felt homesick and alone, I didn’t crave to hear an American accent, I craved to hear Hebrew, or see a yarmulke. My Jewish identity was torn down to its core here in Israel and built up even stronger than it was prior.

Israel is more than what one hears in the news, from either side of the political spectrum. It is more than what lively campus groups from both arenas argue it to be on campus. It is more than the Arab-Israeli conflict, and it is more than just a Jewish homeland. Israel is a diverse, beautiful, vibrant, and unique country. It is a Jewish state, it is a democracy, it is surrounded on all sides by unstable war-torn countries, and yet, through all of this complexity, Israel is thriving. After generations of persecution and massacre, one might expect Israelis to be afraid, but they are simply not. They are strong and they are proud. So second, I chose Israel to sort through these complex issues and find a true understanding of what Israel actually is. I didn’t want to be told by the news or any group what to think of the State, and studying here this semester I have found, for myself, what Israel really is all about. And that connection and understanding that I have created with this place is something that will last with me for a lifetime.

...continue reading "So, why Israel?"

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By reuben31

While there are plenty of political and social issues involving Israel, in the country itself there is hardly any discrimination, racism, or hatred that is directed at any specific group. This results for the most part from the fact that in order to immigrate to Israel, you have to be Jewish. While there are Israeli Arabs who were granted citizenship when Israel declared independence in 1948, the fact that almost all of the country is Jewish creates a fairly level playing field for most. There are Ashkenazi Jews from Europe, Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews from the Middle East and Spain, Ethiopian Jews, and Latin American Jews all living together.

Among all of these groups I feel relatively comfortable and at home. As someone of Ashkenazi Jewish descent who grew up around Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews at summer camp, coming to Israel I believed that I wouldn’t experience a culture shock when it came to Israelis. However, through my time here, I have found that there is one particular group of Israelis that I have experienced a certain culture shock around. In the 1990’s, after the fall of the Soviet Union and an agreement between Mikhail Gorbachev and Shimon Peres, almost one million Jews immigrated to Israel from the Former Soviet Union. This changed the state of Israel forever.

Russian-speaking Israelis have been one of the main sources of the success of the country as a “Start Up Nation.” Jews from the Former Soviet Union arrived in Israel with advanced degrees in science and technology and quickly flourished in the new capitalist nation they found themselves in. A large proportion of the highly successful tech companies in Israel are founded and run by Russian-speaking Israelis, and the language most often heard spoken among doctors all across the country is Russian. As a result of the size and success of the immigration of Jews from the Former Soviet Union to Israel, across the country there are whole towns with store signs only in Russian, Russian newspapers, Russian television, and Russian as the primary language.

...continue reading "Russian-Speaking Israel"

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By reuben31

Israeli academics, up to this point in the semester, have not been vastly different from academics at GW. Most, if not all, of my professors received their Masters or Doctorate degrees from American universities, so the structure of class tends to be rather familiar: a reading or two to be completed before class, and a PowerPoint lecture that covers material discussed in those readings. As a result, I’ve slipped into a studying routine that’s about the same as it is at GW, and in a foreign country with many new and different experiences, this has been somewhat of a comfort.

However, as the semester is about halfway over and midterms have begun, I have started to notice the Israeli culture and state of mind creeping into my academics in a way that is patently Israeli. At GW, professors may give a written, in-class midterm, and several weeks before the exam provide a study guide to allow students to focus in on what they need to study. This model provides clarity for the students in order to study as well as they can for the midterm.

Israel, however, likes to live constantly on the edge. Whether it’s the brink of extinction the Jewish people faced less than a century ago, or the almost constant threat of war from surrounding groups and countries, Israeli culture is inherently about risk taking and living in the moment – for each day could be ones last. This mentality has undoubtedly found its way into academic culture as well. Across the board, all of my professors have resisted the attempts of American students to pry study guides or exam descriptions out of them. This is not because they want us to just consistently study and be prepared, as my classmates and I initially believed. Rather, the professors explained that giving us these study guides or exam descriptions would hinder our ability to enjoy the moment. Spring has begun, its warm outside, the beach is a short walk away, why would we want study guides for exams with that right outside?

...continue reading "Midterms in Israel: Just Enjoy"

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By reuben31

As a political science major and news “junkie,” I have been doing as much as I can to stay informed in regards to American news stories during my time in Israel. None of these stories has affected my classmates and I abroad more than the Parkland shooting and the activism that has been sparked in its aftermath. The gun control debate in the US has consistently been a controversial, heated, and emotional issue with many suggestions for change but no clear correct solution. For my classmates and I, being in Israel has added another dimension of complexity to this debate.

In Israel there is mandatory military service, meaning that just about every Israeli, regardless of what their service entailed, has training on how to use a gun. Beyond this, in Israel, soldiers are allowed to go home on weekends, and because of the quick-changing nature of the conflicts the country faces the soldiers bring their assault rifles home with them. As a result, simple train or bus rides can have 10 or more large assault rifles riding along.

As an American who knows many who have been affected by mass shootings that utilize this weapon, these guns on the backs of soldiers initially made me incredibly nervous and scared. For Israelis, however, no one so much as bats an eye. These guns don’t represent mass shootings or heated and emotional debates to them. Rather, they represent safety and security from the conflicts that surround the nation.

...continue reading "Israel and Guns: A Cultural Difference"

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By reuben31

“Why are you studying abroad in Israel?”

This was a question I frequently received prior to departing for my semester at Tel Aviv University, and it was a question that I struggled somewhat to answer. Usually my stock response was, “Because, as a Jew, I feel that it is important to create my own connection with the Jewish State.” While this felt like the right answer to the question, in my first weeks studying in Israel I have found that the answer is far more complex than this.

As almost a month has passed since I landed in Tel Aviv, I am starting to understand how important my immersion into Israeli culture truly is. Starting the first day, I could tell that this experience was going to be different than that of my friends studying abroad in Europe. Aesthetically, politically, geographically, and culturally, Israel is just different. Walking off the plane into Ben-Gurion Airport, beside new friends from across the United States, I could sense in the way people were walking, talking, eating, and interacting that my semester would be eye opening.

My first week in Tel Aviv was a whirlwind of newness and a bit of culture shock. From my 3rd floor apartment in a building with no elevator, to my kitchen with no oven, to the mesh of Hebrew, Arabic, and English being spoken around the complex, to my roommates from Middle Eastern countries I had barely heard of, I knew that my experience would not just be about Jewish identity.

...continue reading "(Welcome to Israel!)!ברוכים הבאים לישראל"

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