Early this morning 10 pro-palestinian activists were killed when Israeli Navy troops boarded 6 six ships that were en-route to Gaza. This incident has sent shockwaves through throughout the international media as well as the state of Israel. My internship start date has been delayed by a day and I have family members calling me and urging me to stay home and avoid going out until there is more information available about the situation.
NY Times Article
Honestly, I find the whole situation to be ridiculous. I think that when people physically attack soldiers, they are asking for severe repercussions. Its people like that that are involved in the Gaza Freedom Movement and Insani Yardim Vakfi who are at fault. They act as a barrier to peace and their involvement in Israel should be completely eliminated. I also find it ironic that Ahmadinajad of Iran, called the incident "inhuman" given that his government has been murdering anti-government political protesters.
I support the Israeli government's actions today, they were just and legal. Maybe the world sees things differently when they are in regards to Israel but if actions such as these continue to come from Pro-palestinian supporters, peace will never be achieved. They are the roadblock to understanding because they introduce hate.
Thats all I will be saying on that subject, hopefully the tensions will die down a bit tomorrow and I will start my internship.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Moved in!
Just moved into my apartment in Jerusalem with Wajida and Anushka. The apartment is beautiful! We haven't heard from Jordan, I think he might be dead. That was me being sarcastic, I don't really think he's dead, he's just missing.
Anyways, tomorrow is the first day of my internship, that should be amazing I'm pretty excited to get started and really get into the whole Jerusalem feel. Plus this is something I have wanted to do for a very long time so I have a lot of expectations for myself. I think my mood has lightened since arriving in Jerusalem, I'm around people I know and in a beautiful city. I'm just pretty excited about what this summer brings.
This post will be short, we're probably going to cook dinner at the apartment tonight, its our first meal together as summer roommates, so that should be eventful. More updates to come tomorrow or Tuesday.
Anyways, tomorrow is the first day of my internship, that should be amazing I'm pretty excited to get started and really get into the whole Jerusalem feel. Plus this is something I have wanted to do for a very long time so I have a lot of expectations for myself. I think my mood has lightened since arriving in Jerusalem, I'm around people I know and in a beautiful city. I'm just pretty excited about what this summer brings.
This post will be short, we're probably going to cook dinner at the apartment tonight, its our first meal together as summer roommates, so that should be eventful. More updates to come tomorrow or Tuesday.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Shalom from Israel!
So I am now in Israel. I landed earlier today with Wajida, whom I lost at the airport when they took her aside for questioning. I think that was probably the most scared I have ever been, to lose a friend in a foreign country is not a fun thing to deal with. But she made it out safely and soon we will meet up and head to Jerusalem.
I'm starting to get pretty nervous about my internship, I start Monday morning which is so soon! I didn't sleep on the plane at all because all I could think of was my big day on Monday. I realized that I will be spending 71 days in Israel, 71 days to do something that I dreamed and talked about for months. So now the bar is set, will I be able to accomplish all I set out to do or will I fail? Will I exceed my own expectations or will I disappoint myself? I think those are the most legitimate concerns I have at the moment. I'm just so nervous, anxious, and afraid but I used to feel excitement every time I thought about my internship and what this summer brings. I miss that excitement and hopefully I'll be able to put my fears and concerns behind me and allow myself to enjoy the summer of my dreams.
Thats all for now, I'm going to try to get some sleep even though I am extremely jetlag. When I wake up tomorrow I will be 1 day away from moving into our apartment in Jerusalem and just 2 days away from the experience of a lifetime, my internship.
In the ancient Babylonian Talmud, one Rabbi writes הבטח מעט ועשה הרבה, translated to promise little and do much. So I will follow those words very carefully, I will not promise to change the world, I will not promise to change the lives of people, and I will not promise to impact the conflict in the Middle East. I will promise to grow and to learn and I think, for now, that is the best promise I can make.
I'm starting to get pretty nervous about my internship, I start Monday morning which is so soon! I didn't sleep on the plane at all because all I could think of was my big day on Monday. I realized that I will be spending 71 days in Israel, 71 days to do something that I dreamed and talked about for months. So now the bar is set, will I be able to accomplish all I set out to do or will I fail? Will I exceed my own expectations or will I disappoint myself? I think those are the most legitimate concerns I have at the moment. I'm just so nervous, anxious, and afraid but I used to feel excitement every time I thought about my internship and what this summer brings. I miss that excitement and hopefully I'll be able to put my fears and concerns behind me and allow myself to enjoy the summer of my dreams.
Thats all for now, I'm going to try to get some sleep even though I am extremely jetlag. When I wake up tomorrow I will be 1 day away from moving into our apartment in Jerusalem and just 2 days away from the experience of a lifetime, my internship.
In the ancient Babylonian Talmud, one Rabbi writes הבטח מעט ועשה הרבה, translated to promise little and do much. So I will follow those words very carefully, I will not promise to change the world, I will not promise to change the lives of people, and I will not promise to impact the conflict in the Middle East. I will promise to grow and to learn and I think, for now, that is the best promise I can make.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Preparations and some final thoughts
So the time has come, I'm just a few days away from getting on a plane en route to Ben-Gurion Airport, Israel. Honestly, I don't know what to feel, I have these expectations of myself and of others but what I've realized is that in life, people never seem to really live up to your expectations. I guess that's a pessimistic way to look at it but I pride myself on being a realist, reality is, unfortunately, rarely optimistic.
I'm actually pretty scared, nervous, excited, and unsure? To be completely honest, I've deliberated canceling my flight, I've even called Delta and inquired as to how much that would cost. I don't know if that makes me a coward, but the whole point of this blog is honesty, maybe I don't really know. Students Crossing Boundaries has been difficult for me, thats really the bottom line. I have been confronted with fact-less arguments, faceless assaults on my belief system, and just many inconsistencies with the way the program itself was run.
Now, that being said, this blog was not meant to criticize SCB. The number one reason I didn't cancel my flight is because I'm part of a team. A team of mentors and fellows who support, challenge, and force me to grow. I think that's the best part of SCB and regardless of the criticism I had of the program itself I grew as a person and developed many relationships in the process. There were times that I voiced my concerns to the mentors and in response they worked to make me feel comfortable and they genuinely worked to make the program better. That's why I didn't cancel my flight, because I knew that these people put their faith, money, time, and commitment into me and now it was my turn to repay them. There are very few people in my life who ever exceed my expectations, but I can proudly tell the world that the SCB mentors and the SCB fellows have done more than that. They have gone above and beyond, not for themselves, but for me.
I guess that was a little bit of a purposeful rant, I don't know if I made much of a point but I hope this blog is the start of many thoughtful blogs to come.
I'm actually pretty scared, nervous, excited, and unsure? To be completely honest, I've deliberated canceling my flight, I've even called Delta and inquired as to how much that would cost. I don't know if that makes me a coward, but the whole point of this blog is honesty, maybe I don't really know. Students Crossing Boundaries has been difficult for me, thats really the bottom line. I have been confronted with fact-less arguments, faceless assaults on my belief system, and just many inconsistencies with the way the program itself was run.
Now, that being said, this blog was not meant to criticize SCB. The number one reason I didn't cancel my flight is because I'm part of a team. A team of mentors and fellows who support, challenge, and force me to grow. I think that's the best part of SCB and regardless of the criticism I had of the program itself I grew as a person and developed many relationships in the process. There were times that I voiced my concerns to the mentors and in response they worked to make me feel comfortable and they genuinely worked to make the program better. That's why I didn't cancel my flight, because I knew that these people put their faith, money, time, and commitment into me and now it was my turn to repay them. There are very few people in my life who ever exceed my expectations, but I can proudly tell the world that the SCB mentors and the SCB fellows have done more than that. They have gone above and beyond, not for themselves, but for me.
I guess that was a little bit of a purposeful rant, I don't know if I made much of a point but I hope this blog is the start of many thoughtful blogs to come.
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