Over the spring break of 2011, I took a trip to Israel with 14 members of the Berkeley High School community. The trip was conceived after a close friend and classmate, Kyle Strang, passed away in a car accident in 2010. After high school, Kyle planned to move to Israel in order to continue his education, and possible join the Israeli military. After his death, Kyle's family and friends began to plan the trip to honor him. Our mission was to learn more about the Israel/Palestine conflict, and to learn more about ourselves in the process. The trip was facilitated by an organization called Seeking Common Ground.
On the trip, I took many pictures. Although we saw many beautiful sights, I found that the majority of photographs I took were of the students I was on the trip with. Their passion for life, exploration, and discovery amazed me. At the risk of sounding cheesy, each and every one of them was inspirational. I asked each one to reflect in some way on the physical and metaphysical journey we had taken together. Evan
Israel is such a beautiful place, not only because of its culture, but because reality is at its worst over there, and yet, you meet these people that were all about peace, and believe so much in change. It inspired me and warmed my heart more than I ever would have expected.
My experience was more amazing than I ever expected.
I learned more in that one week than I would have learned in a yearlong class about the conflict. Being in Israel and meeting with Israelis and Palestinians showed me how hard it is to compromise and live among people with such different views, yet how important is it to be able to do those things. It helped me reflect on what’s going on in America and how we influence many countries. Our world is not so simple, but we can make is easier to understand by opening up our minds. I'll never forget our ten special days in Israel.
In the Old City we saw many old historical sites. I found it very interesting that there were so many interpretations of the same or similar situations. Part of stories would overlap while others conflicted and contradicted greatly which caused disagreements between religions.
When leaving for Israel, I naively assumed by the end of the trip I would further understand the two-sided conflict we had studied in class. In fact, the only thing I understood is that the conflict is not something you can learn about in class. By the end of the trip, I had only started to grasp the many sides and emotions of the conflict that affects so many different people. One of the things I walked away with is a deeper understanding of what “conflict” is. I learned conflict is never as simple as it is made out to be; conflict has many different layers and emotions running through it. I learned that there is a history to everything. I learned that your government doesn’t always portray your opinions and act as you wish. And I learned that your “enemies” and “friends” are more similar than you think.
Leib Sutcher
This trip changed me as a person in so many ways. It altered my perceptions of the world and other people, and the way I relate to others. A lot of what I brought back from Israel is intangible, which is why I have so much trouble explaining to people “what we did” or “what we learned from the experience.” Any explanation I could give wouldn't do it justice. Israel has definitely been a huge part of defining my junior year as a time of changing, expanding my view of the world, and growing up.
Eli Schwartz
I learned that I have a tremendous amount of privilege being an American and that I need to learn the most effective way to use my power to create positive change on the planet.
Gracie Mungovan
“We pictured Kyle walking alongside us, confident, with his head held high in his leather jacket, checking out the Israeli girls we passed along our way, slick, trying toget their attention. We talked and we fantasized, and while Kyle wasn't physically walking beside us, he was there. He was there through the 13 of his classmates, he was there through Craig, and there through Hasmig, and he was there through Israel, there through the land that he loved, the land that he never got to go to, and the land that we walk on today to honor, to remember, and to connect to our friend.”
Siena Meeks
“I can really feel it. Like it almost brought me to tears. You know that feeling like when you're running or riding a bike really hard, that feeling right when you stop? That's how I felt [at the Western Wall]. I don't really pray; I'm more of a meditation guy, but whatever, I can really feel it right now…this is the highlight of my teenage life...”
Nick J Nunez
“We are at the Wall. Renana warns us to be quick as we pull out our huge Nikon cameras and begin to snap pictures of the graffiti covering this large segment of the wall. ‘Imagine. War is Over.’ and ‘One Wall. Two Jails.’ are two of many lines that stick with me … we scramble back on Yusefs trusty blue bus and wind our way to the Palestinian Municipality Building where we are greeted by our first Palestinian soldiers. After approaching Arafat's tomb and snapping some photos with the guards we get back on the bus and head towards Ramallah's old city…We meet the guide who will take us on our hike…After an alleged 10 miles we arrive back at the cobblestoned old city where a feast of barbecue lamb and chicken awaits us. It is ever amazing that so much beauty and hope can be intertwined with the pain and reality of the conflict.”
Gemma Searle
“As I climbed Masada (I was the first one up, by the way), I felt a huge sense of motivation within myself, then satisfaction when I reached the top before sunrise. As I arrived at the top of the mountain, panting, I stopped in the midst of a group of Israeli children in vocal prayer. It was so powerful, so perfect. The sun rose, the children chanted, and I felt a little more connected with the universe.”
Evan Neff
This trip has changed my life. I experienced the world in a completely unique way. It showed how much I have to be thankful for in my life; how lucky I am. In many ways Israel was the place where I realized “we have the power to make a difference in this world.”
Alex Flood-bryzman
This trip has changed my perspective in terms of taking my "peaceful" life for granted. It is not a luxury that anyone in Israel gets to have. It was extremely eye opening to see how people in a conflict area live, and how that life differs from our own. I would not trade the experiences, nor the life lessons Israel gave me, for anything in the world.
Ben Cerami
The trip to Israel/Palestine was a completely life changing experience for me. It presented a perspective I had never known to think about and made me care so deeply about something that was so far from my own reality. The people, the food, the sadness, the happiness, and the am
ount of pride really captured my heart to explore the world and the different people that come with it.
Jasmine Wirsig
I spent a year in Israel studying at Tel Aviv University for the majority of my duration there. I learned the language, the cultures of Israel, Tel Aviv, and Jews), studied the history, economy and politics of the region, and was lucky enough to study under highly accomplished and objective professors, who all made grand efforts to show more than two sides of the conflict. Yes, surprisingly enough, it's not just a black and white conflict with shades of gray, Palestinians vs. Israelis - the conflict delves even deeper! I learned many lessons that I use in everyday life on a wide array of diverse topics. Some of the lessons, in concise versions for the purpose of briefness, are; 'two opposing sides can both have valid views and reasons for their actions' and 'any situation can be looked at from a multitude of various angles'. It is important to add that 'some views are more valid than others' and 'a singular truth does not necessarily exist' apply to both 'lessons' listed. My year in Israel proved to be my most eye opening experience in regards to how the world and humanity operates. At least this conflict has some good effects. I was lucky enough to join this trip of thirteen CAS students during my time there. Despite spending just ten short days in Israel, this CAS crew went through a life changing course. At the end of the trip it became apparent to me that this crew had grown an appreciation for the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an understanding that perpetrators and victims live on both sides of the wall, physical and ideal. Only after reading some of these responses, of which the one you are reading accompanies, did I realize that this crew took the lessons from their trip to Israel and further applied them in the various domains within their lives. By the end of the trip, they had reached previously unimaginable conclusions through their determination to raise the funds to fly a troop halfway across the world for ten sleep deprived, information overloaded, and culture shocked days in the ME. I admire such beings, that without strong direct connections, devoted such time and energy to understanding in an objective manner, one of the most controversial and in-depth conflicts of our time.
Jonas Maximilian Sota, March 19, 2012
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