Editor's Letter jam Israel Travel Matters w ithout much fanfare, Michigan State University's Jewish Studies Program has become a national model. From humble beginnings, it has grown to 800 students a year and awaits a new Chair in Israel Studies. With this momentum, it's no surprise that MSU renewed facul- ty-led student study abroad in Israel. MSU suspended offering such study when Palestinian terror against Zionism began again in late 2000. Jewish Studies Director Ken Waltzer will lead a study abroad group to Israel next summer. The Robert A. Sklar group will be based at the Editor Rothberg International School at Hebrew University. The University of Michigan should follow MSU's lead and lift its ban on study abroad in Israel. The U.S. State Department still warns against travel to Israel. It acknowledges that the frequency of attacks has lessened, but that the "potential for further vio- lence remains high." Waltzer did a great job explaining to MSU decision makers how conditions have cau- tiously changed for the better in Israel and that study abroad in Israel is integral to the program. Opportunities include biblical research, Hebrew immersion, and exposure to the politics and values of the Jewish homeland. The change atMSU allows Jewish and non-Jewish students to tap into a scholarship fund endowed by Bloomfield Hills philanthropist Ed Levy Jr. for study in Israel. MSU operates one of the nation's largest study abroad programs; 2,000 students study in 60 countries. The Jewish Studies Program is part of immediate past President M. Peter McPherson's lega- cy and counts new President Lou Anna Simon among its backers. Allowing study abroad in Israel links well with the new Michael and Elaine Serling and Friends Endowed Chair in Israel Studies at MSU, the sixth such chair in the U.S. Michael Serling is a Birmingham attorney who heads the campus Jewish Studies lay advisory • board. Jewish Studies enrollment is expected to rise to 1,000 by fall 2006 with the addition of this endowed Chair and a contract professor in Jewish Religious and Philosophical Thought. Students take courses in eight departments over three colleges. They can't major in Jewish Studies, but they can specialize in it. To control safety and security MSU will not recog- nize students who enroll directly in Israel universities. It will require students in faculty-led groups to sign a statement of responsibility that affirms the risk. Israel's voluntary pullout from the Gaza Strip and its security fence along the West Bank border helped convince Provost Kim Wilcox to reverse the study abroad in Israel policy. Wilcox directed the Study Abroad Security and Risk Assessment Committee to watch Mideast developments so that the scheduled summer trip can be reconsidered if necessary, the State News in East Lansing reported. I'm impressed with the depth of MSU's commit- XF-4 Novernber 24 • 2005 ment to protecting students and faculty who go to Israel to study. Lifting the ban was not made lightly. With the travel ban lifted, students no doubt will sign up. Last summer, nine MSU students studied in Israel through non-MSU programs. Before the ban, 12 to 14 MSU students took part each year in faculty-led study abroad in Israel. Ohio State, Wisconsin and Indiana are other Big Ten universities that now permit restricted study abroad in Israel. Northwestern, Penn State and the University of Michigan haven't budged from the U.S. State Department warning against Israel travel. The University of Michigan need only look to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit for inspira- tion. Federation will take more than 700 people to Israel on a family mission this December. Ovg.nt inh DONATE YOUR CAR! JARC recently purchased a much-needed van with the proceeds of donated vehicles... your gift WILL make a difference! t.=.1 =_M S - makers hrmi rzeInditinns have cautiously frt." gri s frx- nri fht•:-.-et StUdV Pro-Israel student activists have challenged the U- M ban to no avail, the Michigan Daily reported. I urge the Detroit and Ann Arbor Jewish communities to encourage and support this important challenge. I urge the U-M Hillel to use its unique position of influ- ence to bolster the challenge as well. Jewish enroll- ment at MSU has climbed to nearly 3,000, 43 percent of the nearly 7,000 Jewish students at the U-M. To bar Israel travel yields to what the terrorists want, namely hurting study in and travel to the Jewish state. The U-M ban ignores a Jerusalem-based call from the Jewish-led Hebrew University and the Arab- led Al Quds University for international collaboration with Israeli universities. Such cooperation is seen as essential to Middle East peace. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee could provide important counsel if the University of Michigan sought it. The prevailing mood among college students I have spoken with over the years echoes loud and clear: Study abroad in Israel is a significant academic expe- rience that doesn't have to compromise the safety or security of participants. ❑ Should the U-M follow MSU's lead and allow study abroad in Israel with safety restrictions? Is American Jewish support for Israel dangerously waning as Palestinian terror decreases? E-mail letters to: letters@thejewishnews.com X=S 4 :01=111EMEMS 248 5381611 For 36 years, helping people with disabilities be included in their community — all through their lives.