A Goy Goes to Israel

Katie Burke

My first experiences with Israel were through friends who had gone on Birthright trips. From their stories and photos, I could tell it was a fun and culturally rich travel site with great food. Hearing about their experiences inspired me to learn more, and after taking a number of classes on the region and its conflicts, I was more eager than ever to visit the country myself.

My chance arose as I was checking my e-mail one day in class. A member of Project Interchange, an institute of the American Jewish Council, had reached out about their winter seminar for members of college media organizations. The seminar entailed an expenses-paid weeklong trip to Israel for non-Jewish college journalists. I applied without a second thought, and anxiously awaited the response.

In the meantime, I told my parents about the seminar to which my dad immediately responded, “You’re going to be sent home in a body bag.”  While I was somewhat caught off-guard by the dramatic response, I realized my perception of the region was somewhat skewed by the pictures of camel rides and Tel Aviv bar nights. The history of the regional conflict and the more recent headlines had of course been on my mind, but my curiosity was much stronger than my sense of caution. His words, however, reminded me of the broader perception of Israel

I was accepted to the seminar, and eventually convinced my parents to let me go, and I flew out with fourteen other student journalists from schools across the country. The next seven days held some of the most educational and memorable experiences of my life.

In my two days in Tel Aviv, I visited an Israeli university, spoke with Israeli filmmakers, and spent a night out at a gay bar — to name a few activities in our jam-packed schedule. After departing Tel Aviv, we traveled to an Arab Israeli community center in Nazareth to speak with members of one of the nation’s minorities and hear about their experiences. Their stories provided a stark contrast to the European-style city I had just left and began to form a more complicated picture of the conflicted region.

After celebrating New Year’s Eve in a cave by the Sea of Galilee, we made it to our final destination, Jerusalem. We spent time there with other Israeli students, visited Ramallah, and even had a surprise visit from Secretary of State John Kerry. These events happened in a span of 24 hours, a whirlwind to say the least. My initial impression was of the range of standards of living from Ramallah, to East Jerusalem, to West Jerusalem. The contrasts were stark for the relative small size of the area. There was so much history, so much pain, yet so much beauty in the sites to be seen and the stories we heard.

We ended the week with a dip in the Dead Sea then headed straight to the airport, needless to say the 11-hour flight was a bit salty.

It has been over a year since that trip and I still could not give you a firm opinion of the region or suggest anything close to a solution for its problems. If anything, the trip further complicated my already complex impression of Israel. However, it was not discouraging. That was not the last time I will travel to Israel, and my curiosity has only grown.

It only took a week and a few sleepless nights, but I learned there is much, much more to Israel than camels, bars, and conflict.

An aspiring journalist, Katie enjoys learning about the world firsthand through travel. Her main area of interest is Spain and Spanish culture, however, she is open to going anywhere and everywhere she has the chance. To Katie, the most important part of the travel experience is documenting it.

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