Emotional:
- I adore being in Israel. I went on a Taglit-Birthright trip this past May and had an amazing time. I felt comfortable here in a way that I am completely unaccustomed to, and I knew when I left that I wanted to come back. (I do know that this is the whole point of the Taglit trips, and that a combination of manipulation and flattery is used to encourage participants to feel this way, but I don't mind.)
- The Israeli-Palestinian conflicts make me feel incredibly sad and torn. I'll go more into this later. The opportunity to volunteer in a mixed city (Ramla is about 22% Arab out of around 70,000 people), and to work with a coexistence initiative was extremely important to me when I was deciding where to volunteer.
- I want to go into conflict management, and if I don't address my emotions regarding Israeli-Arab relations they will simply be the elephant of my academic and professional career. I can't run away from thinking about it in a critical manner simply because it is so important to me. It's unlikely that I'd ever have a substantial role in negotiating the conflict, because of my background, but I might be able to assist those who will, and I want to do so in a strong, genuine way.
Practical:
- To get into a graduate program in International Affairs, I needed more international experience that was on my resume. Without an extended stay abroad (more than my summer in Chile), my applications were probably going to fall into a pile of "maybes" that don't get accepted in the end. Having withdrawn my application to JET at the second round last year, and having chosen not to work for the IMF, I needed something to solidify my international credentials to these schools I deeply want to attend.
- Much as I love New Orleans in the spring time, going abroad in the spring would fit well with my life. Rather than trying to return to a job after six months away, I could use the time before graduate school starts (hopefully) to do something less traditional.
- For an American Jew, Israel is an extremely cost-efficient option for international work/volunteering/long-term experiences. Between the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Israeli government, and pro-Israel American donors, long-term programs in Israel can be very inexpensive. The tuition for my program was completely waived, thanks to a MASA grant and private donors, leaving me responsible for only my flight and my personal expenses. Our rabbi at my synagogue in Georgia even offered funding to help assist with my personal expenses.
- Programs for Diaspora Jews are extremely important to Israel and to certain groups in the international Jewish community. I am not in danger here, certainly not more so than I was in New Orleans. In the event of a genuine threat, we would probably be evacuated. The last thing my program, MASA, the Jewish Agency, and Israel want is for a participant to be injured. The publicity, particularly if the participant was American, would do potentially irreparable damage to these organizations's recruitment efforts. As such, I am not particularly concerned about my personal safety.
