Phase I: Israel Advocacy Trip

I figured I would start a blog in order to remind myself of what has been happening during this adventure, and also to provide a little bit of entertainment to others who would like to track my journey.

This summer I have 7 different phases which are all hopefully unique and different. I have lots to say, and am just about finished phase 3 as I am writing this... so here it goes!

Phase I was when I originally got to Israel for 10 days to help lead a trip through work at the Union of Jewish Students in London. For the last year I have been working there as the education officer, and I was fortunate for this summer to be offered one of the positions as a madrich on their trip called Manhigut (Hebrew for 'leadership'). The point of the trip was to take a few key active students from across the UK, and take them to Israel for 10 days in order for them to meet with top activists, journalists, a number of politicians, and some other interesting people.

The trip was fantastic and I really enjoyed every minute of it. The students made the trip that much more interesting, as they were extremely keen, they knew their stuff, and they weren't afraid to ask the hard questions. There is a big difference between British and Canadian students... but I am not 100% sure what it is just yet, so I am going to think about it and hopefully let you know when I can.

The trip took place as Israel was making a decision regarding a prisoner swap with Hizbullah (which I will address in a further entry), and so that issue, coupled with a number of different ones regarding Israeli policy, made for quite an interesting experience with much to be gained.

In my experience, I find that there are two problems with Israel advocacy on campus. The first, is that the majority of students have no idea whatsoever. Many students take Israel for granted, feel that despite everything that is going on, things are fine, and they only get involved on campus when there is a massive rally, or a fight that breaks out... then they rush to the front lines. There is an intense wave of apathy that has gripped the Jewish student population perhaps because they feel there is simply too much going on that it is too much to handle, or because, like I said before, they just don't care all that much. They may love Israel, but loving Israel and caring for Israel are two very different things.

The other problem with regard to Israel advocacy on campus is simply that students take a course and get to a certain point, and then consider themselves experts. In a place as dynamic and turbulent as the Middle East, I believe it is impossible to be an expert because things change every day. This means that one must always be learning, listening, and ready to change their mind in order for a rational flow of thoughts to exist. In this way, advocacy trips are fantastic and help get this message across to a wide variety of students (and we defintely had a wide variety on this trip).

Not much else to say about it, but thoroughly enjoyed and hope to lead a similar trip in the future.