| Read These Insights From Our Summer Superstars! |
| Hear from our students: Annika Witt, Tufts University “Ever since my first trip to Israel in 2016, I have always held the state and its culture close to my heart. Sometimes, though, I found it hard to express my support and admiration on campus because Israel seemed to be a very polarizing topic for many people. This frustrated me and ultimately pushed me to travel with Hasbara this past summer. The most impactful experience on the trip for me was visiting Sedrot, one of the few towns situated near the Gaza border. There, we met a businessman who has lived in Gaza his whole life and is one of the few people able to leave Gaza to conduct business in Israel. He has seen Gaza change under the various leaderships and reminisces on the day when borders between Gaza and Israel were open. Today, Gazans are suffering under the harsh rule of Hamas as the fresh water source is being rapidly depleted and resources are not being efficiently distributed. Students uneducated about the situation in Gaza may believe that Israel is ignoring the suffering or, even worse, inflicting it themselves. In reality, they are transporting around 500 trucks of water, food and resources into Gaza per day and supplying them with electricity from a power plant in Ashkelon. The conflicts in and around Israel are not independent of one another, in fact, they are all very much interconnected. From overseas, I can’t do much in terms of helping people on the ground, but if the truth can be spread and support garnered than Israel will have a better chance at helping human suffering around it. I’m proud to be a part of Hasbara’s pro-Israel student community in North America. We work hard to show the truth of Israel.” |
| Hear from our students: Gianna Michaelson, UConn “Taking a trip to Israel with Hasbara Fellowships challenged me to break out of my biases surrounding the conflict. Each of our workshops featured a speaker with a unique narrative. They came from all across the political spectrum. These workshops allowed us to piece together many moving parts of the incredibly complex situation in Israel going on now. Although it was extremely challenging, one of my favorite experiences was the negotiations seminar. Each of us stepped into a role of a key player in the Middle East and had to resolve to a given crisis. At the same time, we were pursuing our individual agendas, taking into account our histories and aiming to satisfy our people. We quickly learned how difficult any negotiations are, as well as the importance of understanding the competing narratives and interests. Being exposed to such a diversity of opinions, values, and thought processes on my trip with Hasbara has made a lasting impact on the way I view Israel and the Middle East.” |
