For my STEP Project, I studied abroad in Israel at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem from July 1^st-July 25^th this summer. I participated in their program titled, Coexistence in the Middle East. Through this program, I took two courses; “Narratives & Realities: Inside the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” and “Israel & The Post-Arab Spring: An Interactive View.” The program and courses combined expert academic lectures, numerous field excursions, and opportunities to meet with diplomats, activists, and representatives from a wide variety of political and cultural backgrounds.

As an International Relations and Diplomacy and Religious Studies double-major student, traveling to a place as entrenched in religious history and international controversy was both exciting and anxiety provoking. Aside from a weekend trip to Toronto, Canada and a few days spent in a few touristy parts of Mexico, I had never traveled abroad prior this trip. I didn’t know what to expect. Even though my courses would be taught in English, would I be expected to know how to communicate in Hebrew and/or Arabic? Since this was a direct-enroll program, who would I be taking classes with and would I get along with them? How politically charged would my classes be? All these questions, plus many more, anxiously floated around my head up until my departure. Upon my arrival, I was pleasantly surprised. I had very few encounters where a language barrier was a problem. My classmates, representing five different continents and coming from a wide variety of backgrounds, were engaged inside and outside of class. My professors and program leaders encouraged our critical inquiry and skepticism when it came to the social and political landscapes of Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, and the Middle East as a whole. Even though I was only abroad for twenty-five days, the courses were structured in a way that provided a deep understanding of the subject manner as well as plenty of time for exploring and traveling the country outside of class.

This time outside of class was where I found myself being the most reflective about my own background, views, and assumptions. Unlike many of my classmates who were well-traveled and from more affluent backgrounds, I did not grow up in a family that could afford to travel. Having grown up in a family that regularly went to the local food bank for meals, dealt with many high medical bills due to family illness, and never lived in the nicest neighborhoods, I found my perspective to be a unique one among my peers in Israel. While the program couldn’t take us into Palestinian controlled portions of the West Bank, during our days off I made time to travel to Ramallah, Jericho, Bethlehem, and Hebron. I walked through a refugee camp in Bethlehem and was reminded that while I may not have grown up in an affluent family, we always had food on the table and things definitely could have been worse. I walked through numerous checkpoints where my American passport and visa meant that I barely got a second glance from the guards, while the Palestinians who crossed through these same checkpoints on a daily basis were subjected to random checks and long delays. I spoke with families who had lost children in the violence on both sides of the conflict. I learned that there were far more than two sides to this conflict. A major focus of the program was to analyze and detangle narratives and perspectives in a way that allowed for a deeper understanding of the core issues at hand. Analyzing my own perspectives was a part of this as well.

A meaningful outside of class excursion that I embarked on was traveling to the spot on the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized. When I was born, my parents named me after this biblical river. I grew up able to pick the river out on a map from a very young age and I knew that I always wanted to visit this place. I imagined the river as having pristine waters and sacred vibes. I thought that by traveling there I would uncover something meaningful about myself or maybe rekindle the Christian identity that I used to so strongly identify. But actually, reality was far different from my imagination. As we were driving up to the parking lot alongside the river, yellow signs dotted the fences alongside the road. Our tour guide told us that these signs labeled where landmines were located and warned us not to go off the beaten path. Nearer to the river, we saw professional landmine sweepers clearing mines that had been placed around a church. These mines were placed after Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and were maintained as a border defense mechanism. Israel and Jordan made peace in 1994, and Israel renovated a small portion of the site in 2011, but in order to access this site, pilgrims and tourists have traveled along the same militarized road lined with mines that I did. Nonetheless, the river itself was still a very cool place to visit. Dipping my toes in the water, even if it was muddy and closer to a creek than a “river,” was a powerful moment for me personally. The contrast of the sacred holy site with the nearby landmines, while a bit jarring at first, sums up the nature of this place and the often close proximity of security to ancient holy places.

Another important interaction on my trip was an in-class visit with Col. (Reserve) Danny Tirza, the IDF’s chief architect of the Separation Barrier and former territorial and border adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. When Col. Tirza discussed his creation – a 400+ miles long barrier along the West Bank that is made up of high-tech fences and 25-foot steel reinforced concrete walls – he emphasized the role it played in Israeli security. He personally designed the route that the barrier would take and even seemed to brag about the parts of the border that ended up cutting into internationally recognized West Bank territory. He also spoke about undercover raids that would take place to deter terrorism in a village near the Jerusalem-Bethlehem border. When talking about the preparation for these raids he mentioned how IDF soldiers would be taught to “talk like Arabs, dress like Arabs, and even smell like Arabs.” When pressed on what he meant by smelling like Arabs, he did not have a further comment. While Col. Tirza’s problematic statements could have merely been a reflection of his upbringing and environment, I don’t think that entirely excuses them. Knowing that a former high-level official would say things like this was shocking but not entirely surprising given the complexity of the conflict in this region. Even though I was frustrated by his words, hearing his perspective was an important part of the course and an important part of considering all the factors in this conflict.

During the courses, my classmates and I had many opportunities to meet with activists, officials, and diplomats from many different backgrounds. Our meetings took place all across the country, not just in Jerusalem. We traveled to  Nahariya, the Golan Heights, the border with Lebanon, the border with Syria, a Druze community, Neve Shalom Coexistence Village, Gush Etzion and the Roots peace organization, the border with Gaza, Sderot, Masada, the Dead Sea, and many more places in between. One of these meetings brought us to The American Cultural Center in Jerusalem where we met with two US Foreign Service Officers. As an international relations and diplomacy major, working for the US State Department could be a future career path for me. Being able to meet with professionals within my potential future career field was a spectacular opportunity. Throughout the course we also met with a Russian diplomat, officials from the Israeli Foreign Ministry, a representative from the UN, and representatives from the Palestine Liberation Organization, and so many more. These meetings were insightful and impactful to my future career. Because we were a very outspoken and well-educated student group, we always came prepared with many difficult questions that many people would not have the opportunity to ask.

My study abroad trip to Israel and participation in the Coexistence in the Middle East program was incredibly impactful personally, academically, and professionally. Traveling to places I have heard about my whole life, visiting my namesake river, and soaking in the rich history of this place taught me so much about myself and meant a lot to me personally. As someone who is interested in international conflict resolution, being able to travel to a region of the world that has, at times, been defined by conflict was extremely beneficial to my academic pursuits. Merely reading about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a textbook, doesn’t really do justice to the complexity of the issues on the ground. Having the opportunity to meet with professionals in my potential future career path – diplomats and foreign service officials from a wide variety of backgrounds – was professionally enriching and taught me so much about my field. This trip is something that I will undoubtedly remember and cherish for the rest of my life. I am so thankful for the STEP Program at OSU and countless other scholarship and grant sources for making this opportunity a reality!