This past winter break KU Hillel took 40 students on the experience of a lifetime through Taglit-Birthright Israel. This year’s trip allowed KU Jewish students the ability to travel the holy land in a unique and experiential way. Melissa Kingston, KU Hillel’s program director and Rabbi Neal Schuster, KU Hillel’s senior Jewish educator led the trip for the second year in a row.
For part of the trip, a group of Israeli soldiers, who were off duty from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), joined KU Hillel to travel around Israel. These soldiers were between the ages of 18 to 23 and had never had the chance to explore their own country. The opportunity for KU Hillel students to connect with Israeli’s their own age and see the cultural differences of what it is like to grow up in Israel compared to the United States was invaluable for many of the students.
Avery Parkhurst, a KU sophomore, said, “Every time I visit Israel I get something new out of it. This trip really gave me insight into the life of the Israeli people, as well as the diversity of Israeli culture. On our trip we were able to get close with eight soldiers who were some of the most charming, inspiring, and down-to-earth people I've ever met, and every single one of them fights to serve a country which as a Jew I call my home. I am proud to call these eight individuals my role models, and who knows, maybe one day in my life I will join them in Israel. Israel isn't a homeland for the Jewish people JUST because it was prescribed to us in the Torah. It is our home because of individuals like our eight soldiers who made the choice to fight back against thousands of years of misunderstanding, violent ignorance, and blind hatred for a people. This trip really opened my eyes to the fact that Israel can only be our home through our own choices and actions, and the choices and actions of our leaders.”
The ten-day journey through Israel included historical, cultural and religious heritage sites such as Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Masada, Tel Aviv and the Western Wall.
KU Hillel has been sending students to Israel for over fourteen years. This trip is an amazing gift for students. Many of them come back to KU with a passion to share their experience with others and often help in recruiting other students to go to Israel.
“Birthright was hands down the best experience in my life so far,” said Hannah Caplan, KU junior. “Within ten days of being on the trip with everyone, some of us who knew each other through various places at KU and some of us who had never met before, we bonded so much that the friendships we created could very well last a lifetime. We created memories and experiences that can never be repeated because we will never be in those moments again. I will never be with forty five other people, standing on Mount Herzel as we listen to a soldier, our friend, recount his experience in Protective Edge. I won't ever be in a park near the Knesset laughing hysterically as we have a snowball fight together. It doesn't matter how many times you go to Israel, each one holds a different experience, but this trip strengthened my Jewish identity and love for Israel and I would recommend the trip to anyone who ever thinks about going.”
RSS Feed
