Today I was privileged to spend part of my afternoon at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. The Department of Academic Affairs hosted an event for American students studying in Israel and I was happy to be invited. The afternoon brought together a group of about 20 students who will be studying at Tel Aviv University, University of Haifa, Hebrew University, The Avara Institute, and others. As far as I can tell, I was the only attendee spending less than a semester in Israel.

So you’re looking at the title of this entry and wondering what it has to do with my visit to the embassy. When I arrived at the embassy I joined the group of students waiting outside before the security check and, as Jews do, we started talking. I found out within 2 minutes that a girl I was standing next to was an undergraduate student at American University but was from the Philadelphia area and an alum of the Isaac Mayer Wise teaching certificate program from JCHS. She is a Beth Or member and so we spoke about Cantor Green, who will be my internship supervisor in the fall.

But enough Jewish geography… onto the event. We went through security and were escorted into a large meeting room with pictures of Israel on the wall, a covered grand piano in the corner (I’m a musician so I notice these things) and a spread of wonderful Israeli food in the back. We helped ourselves to falafel, pita, hummus, Israeli salad and other food. As we ate, we met some of the young professionals at the embassy and the program began. We first met with the embassy official to check on our visas and ask any questions about our travels. That portion was followed by a Q and A session with the young professionals to really get a sense of what Israeli culture is like. Many in the room were first time travelers to Israel so they had lots of questions. I think the most important thing I learned from that session was that students are not allowed to eat food in the classroom during class time at the University (bummer.) We then heard from another embassy official about the security and political issues in Israel at the moment. The afternoon wrapped up with more Q and A.

The event, though only 2 hours long, was worthwhile. It was clear from every embassy official I came in contact with that they are excited for Americans to study in Israel and that they want to help support us in anyway they can. It was also a great afternoon because I met 2 of my soon-to-be classmates. I had some time to kill after the event so one of my fellow classmates, her mom, and I, went to the National Zoo to see the pandas! A wonderful end to a great afternoon.

B’Shalom,
Meara

P.S. I leave for Israel on Monday so expect to hear more from me more frequently!