These past few days traveling up north have been incredible.
We visited some new and some familiar sites while meeting some very influential
people. The highlights of our 3-day trip were visiting the Peres Center for
Peace, walking through Jaffa, touring old Akko, visiting an old Tunisian
Synagogue, seeing the Baha’i gardens, eating at a Druze restaurant, visiting
the Technion and going up to the Golan and meeting Israeli soldiers. It’s crazy
thinking back to all the things we did in such a short amount of time.
The Peres Center for Peace, founded by Simon Peres, is a
stunning building facing the Mediterranean. Through its glass windows, you can
see the beautiful view of the beach and all the families around it. It’s
located in Jaffa, a city well known for having both Arab Israeli and Jewish
Israeli families. While at the center we learned about the different programs
the Peres Center for Peace has to offer to both Arab and Jewish Israeli’s while
trying to bring everyone together. The sports programs offered to children of
many ages seem to be a success in creating relationships between the Arab and
Jewish Israelis. Places like Peres Center for Peace brings hope for one day
having peace between the Arabs and the Jews.
Visiting Akko was an adventure. Walking through the ruins
and tunnels of the city of Akko reminded me a little of Jerusalem. Just like
Jerusalem Akko had a lot of history to tell. It was a blast having a
spontaneous boat ride and seeing the entire city from a far in the ocean. Visiting
the Tunisian Sephardic Synagogue was incredible. Walking through and seeing the
mosaics telling the stories of the Jews from biblical times to modern times was
astounding. Having the talk with the local synagogue member was my favorite
part of the tour. Hearing his story of being a holocaust survivor, his love for
the country and family, while trying to convince us that Israel is the place to
be made me so happy. The thought that his entire family threw away their
passports because they never want to leave Israel, made me realize I do want to
make Aliyah at some point in my life. I honestly do not know when, but it may
be sooner than later.
I was very excited to visit the Technion after reading about
the advance technology in Israel through Start-Up
Nation, the awards and prizes given to the university and scholars, and for
its well-known reputation. I loved the lecture given to us about the research
on Nano-Detectors and how it can be used in the medical world to detect if
someone has cancer or at what stage their cancer maybe. I felt I could relate more
to the topic spoken in the lecture because my background is more of a science
background and science is a topic I love. My plans after graduation next summer
are not set in stone but I could see myself applying for graduate school at the
Technion.
As our trip continued we visited the Baha’i Gardens, which
were magnificent. Having visited before, I was a little disappointed that we
were not able to walk through the entire gardens from the top and work our way
to the bottom. However, entering just to the first section was great. The view
of Haifa was just as incredible and brought back many wonderful memories. Visiting
the Golan is always a favorite of mine in all of my trips to Israel. Seeing the
agriculture surrounding the roads and when looking a far seeing either Lebanon
or Syria fascinating. I enjoyed our lunch at a local steak house and conversing
with Israeli soldiers based up north. They shared their experiences in the
army, the process of how they joined their unit and what they would like to do
after the army. Talking to them made me wonder what it would be like if one day
I joined the IDF and fought to protect the land of Israel.
Our trip up north made me realize that I have a lot of
opinions after I graduate from MSU. I can either move back to Chicago or stay
in Michigan and find a job. Apply to Grad School at the Technion or another
university in Israel. Or one day make Aliyah and serve in the IDF. I’m open to
all these amazing opportunities and I’m excited to see where life takes me
next. One thing is for sure, this trip has expanded my love for Israel and who
knows, the next time I come to visit, I might just stay here forever.
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