Israel on the Groud: The Hillel 818 Experience

This past June, members of the Hillel 818 community got to take part in a special trip to Israel. This unique opportunity brought together Jewish and non-Jewish student leaders from CSUN to experience Israel and the West Bank. Together these students learned about the region, the people, and the culture. The hope is to come back to Northridge ready to help grow and change the conversations we have about Israel.

For some students, they were not expecting this trip to be as enriching as it was. Elisa, an Armenian student and a member of the CSUN University Student Union Events Committee and USU student employee, said, “I did not truly know what to expect. I was hoping that I would get a good feel for the conflict through the eyes of those experiencing it first hand and listening to their solutions. I was thinking that there would be a lot of bias from the speakers, especially when discussing solutions to the problem. I wanted to go on this trip to gain more knowledge about a huge long lasting issue that I did not know enough about. I loved the trip. I learned so much and met so many wonderful people. I was so happy that I was immersed in the Israeli and Palestinian cultures.”

America, a member of CSUN Latinas Rising, Hood Scholars, MECHA, and TECUS told us, “I thought this trip would be a geological and political overview of both regions but I was not expecting to get such an in-depth cultural education. I left having a much better understanding of what reality is on all sides. It was eye opening without being too overwhelming. I feel far more culturally aware.”

Our staff knew this group and this experience would be great but were really amazed by the group. Ellen, Hillel 818’s Multicultural & Interfaith Coordinator, said, “Watching 17 students from different backgrounds come together, not knowing much about each other, learning and becoming a family through this transformative experience was inspiring. My favorite part of each day was listening in on the conversations they were all having about what they experienced, how they agreed and disagreed with one another. Seeing them take an active and hands-on interest in a complex geopolitical situation that many only knew about from social media made me realize what a great group we had.”

When asked what her favorite stop on the trip was, America said, “My favorite place was the old city of Jerusalem. My family was most excited for me to visit the religious sites and I was more interested in the cultural elements, but the group made me feel so comfortable to really experience all the holy sites in Jerusalem. Our guide did a great job at giving us bite-sized pieces of information and really letting us experience the sites for ourselves.”

When asked the same question, Elisa said, “My favorite day was when we went to Bethlehem and the Dead Sea. In Bethlehem I felt so at home because it felt like the same environment as when I was in Armenia and that was such an incredible feeling for me. The food was amazing, it was the best shawarma I had on the whole trip. The Dead Sea was also surreal for me because of the beauty of the environment and all of the health benefits of the mud and water. We all bonded in new ways that day and overall it was just the most fun experience I have ever had with friends on a vacation.”

The students who went on the trip all agree that it has better set them up for future conversations about Israel and also other complex topics. For Elisa, she said, “This trip made me more aware of how different groups interact on campus and it will make me want to be more involved in learning about the history and keeping up with the current events. It has also encouraged me to be more involved with clubs and organizations on campus as well” America told us, “I feel like this trip is going to encourage me to ask the bigger questions and be more willing to have harder conversations. Being able to understand multiple sides of an issue has helped prepare me for mediating issues in my professional life as well.”