Students gain new perspective in Israel

Students+gain+new+perspective+in+Israel

Danielle Fogelson, Feature Editor

Julia Laden, senior, just spent her second summer in a row in Israel. While each trip contained many similarities, only her most recent one included running down 11 flights of stairs to a bomb shelter on her first night.

“The night that we got to Jerusalem, our counselors sat us down and explained that there could be a threat. I went up to my hotel room and, right as I sat down on my balcony, the sirens went off,” Laden said.

Earlier that night, Laden was taught the necessary steps to take if a siren sounded. That night in Jerusalem, she had 90 seconds to reach the nearest bomb shelter. Other times, it meant crouching down next to an outdoor wall with her arms over her head.

This was the reality for Laden as she was in Israel at a time of war.

“The first thing our counselors told us anytime we got off the bus was what to do and where to go if we heard a siren. That became the new normal for [the people on my trip],” Laden said.

Tension in Israel began this summer after three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and killed by Hamas, a terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip. In a retaliatory measure, an Israeli man kidnapped and killed a Palestinian boy, which led to rioting throughout Israel. After days of violent protests from both Jews and Palestinians, Hamas began to launch rockets into Israel.

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) implemented Operation Protective Edge in response to the situation. Israel achieved many of its objectives, but the operation caused significant damage to the Gaza Strip and a large number Palestinian casualties.

As violence increased, many teen-tour groups cancelled their scheduled trips to Israel. Michael Cera, senior, was informed that his JCC Maccabi Israel trip was canceled four days before he was planned to leave.

“The fighting had escalated, and they didn’t think it was safe enough to send us,” Cera said. “[We were told] that if they did send us, it would not be the right kind of Israel for us to see.”

Despite the danger, many teen tour groups did travel to Israel this summer. While it was not a typical summer, Michelle Rich, Director of Teen Travel and Programs for United Youth Synagogues (USY), feels that being in Israel under these circumstances was a good educational tool for participants.

“They got to see a different Israel. They got to see how the country reacts when people’s children are fighting on the front lines,” Rich said. “They got to see the touristy stuff too, but they got a different flavor of the country understanding the situation that they were in.”

In order to keep their participants out of high risk areas, USY, along with other teen tour groups, was required to adjust their schedules throughout the summer.

“Itineraries were looked at, not just day to day, but hour to hour. Things were changed as recommendations or requirements were made,” Rich said.

Despite being moved to safer areas in Israel, participants were still affected. This was true for Izzy Miller, senior, as she had a personal connection with the war.

“One of the boys on my trip had a brother fighting in Gaza which was really hard for him. It made [the war] so real,” Miller said. “Knowing someone fighting in Gaza really touched home, because even though Gaza was always close to us, it was hard to feel the effects of the war before.”

Polly Lehman, junior, also experienced the effects of the war when she visited Mount Herzl, which holds the cemetery for IDF soldiers who have died fighting for Israel. Lehman visited on the day of a burial and witnessed tens of thousands of Israelis attend the funeral of a soldier many of them did not know.

“Har Herzl is a beautiful place because it keeps the memories of these soldiers alive, but at the same time, when you look at the graves, you see that so many of the soldiers were only 18 or 20,” Lehman said. “It was hard to understand the number [of IDF casualties from the war] until I looked in front of me and saw a burial right there, next to another grave that said 18 on it. I finally understand why people say when a soldier dies, the whole country feels it.”

After returning home, Lehman felt it was important to continue working with Israeli Leadership Fellows, a program that teaches teens to advocate for Israel.

“I already had the facts, but now I can back them up with my own personal stories,” Lehman said.

While it was an unconventional summer, Miller is grateful she experienced Israel at that time.

“If Israel is in a war, there is no place I’d rather be,” Miller said. “It’s my home. It’s my community, and it’s my family. Even if I couldn’t be fighting, it was still good to be there with them.”