Opinion

Dry Bones Rag

A MIX OF IDEAS

Editorials are posted and archived on JNonline.us.

Editorial

Sadly, No Study In Israel

U

ndergraduate students are
petitioning the University of
Michigan to provide a study
abroad program in Israel. The university
doesn't sponsor study abroad programs in
countries, such as Israel, that carry a current
U.S. Department of State travel warning.
We applaud the student initiative and
urge the university's International Travel
Oversight Committee (ITOC) to seriously
consider it.
Wo1vPAC, a politically active coalition of
students determined to strengthen U.S.-
Israel ties, drafted the petition in November.
At least 1,500 student signatures are antici-
pated by mid-February.
The U.S. government brands a country
a travel risk when "long-term, protracted"
conditions "make a country dangerous or
unstable." We understand the travel risk to
any Middle East country, especially Israel,
which must constantly monitor terrorism
threats. But the decision whether to go to
Israel, which is rich in higher education
opportunities, should be the province
of U-M students and their parents. U-M
graduate students may study abroad in
Israel; the security-minded process they
must go through certainly can provide the
waiver/liability benchmarks for under-
graduates to study there.
Michigan State University has sent more

than 100 students to Israel over the past
six years. It's in the process of developing
an additional undergraduate study abroad
program in collaboration with MASA
Israel Journey, which is striving to help
turn Israeli universities into hubs of global
higher education, a noble and practical goal
for Jewish and non-Jewish students alike.
Wo1vPAC moved to formulate the petition
after learning about the MSU study abroad
program in Israel. Wisely, the campus orga-
nization homed in on rallying the whole
student base at U-M rather than just pursu-
ing a presentation before the ITOC, as had
previously been done.
To bolster their cause, U-M petitioners
are seeking the support of the Michigan
Student Assembly and the LSA Student
Government. To maximize the result, such
support is sought strictly along learning
lines, steering clear of making a political
statement.
Quotes in the Michigan Daily's Jan. 24
article about the petition drive underscore
the depth of student interest in studying in
Israel. The Zionist Organization of America-
Michigan Region also hopes to convince
university officials to allow such study.
It is hard to imagine U-M taking
a place in the pantheon of campuses
dedicated to academic achievement and
global understanding without a learning

connection with Israeli
universities, including the
Technion-Israel Institute
of Technology, Bar-Ilan.
University Hebrew
University, University
of Haifa, Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev,
IDC Herzliya and Tel Aviv
University.
U-M undergraduates
who wish to study abroad
in Israel have the cumber-
some option of doing so
through programs offered
by other U.S. universities
or an Israeli university —
and having to take a U-M
semester off.
Israel ranks 22nd
among the top 25
study abroad destinations for U.S. stu-
dents, according to a 2009 Institute of
International Education report. The Jewish
state is one of the world's smallest coun-
tries, but among the most academically
blessed. Still, less than 3,000 U.S. students
study in Israel each year, despite Israel
being America's staunchest Mideast ally.
MASA Israel Journey, which provides
seed grants for student study abroad, is
but one example of how Israel is trying to

DryBonesBlog.com

improve overseas partnerships. The Jewish
Agency for Israel and the Israeli govern-
ment are cosponsoring the MASA "journey"
Higher education is in the midst of a trend
toward "global universities" — networks of
schools and branches providing opportuni-
ties for study worldwide.
Through its expanding study abroad
in Israel choices, MSU is on the leading
edge of building more educational bonds
between the Jewish state and the diaspora.
U-M could be, too.

Open The Doors For Gen-Yers

New York/JTA

I

t comes as no surprise that in a world
where many neglect the importance of
community, iPhones, iPods and iPods
are the trendiest gadgets. These devices
represent a culture that desires to decon-
struct the power and purpose of commu-
nity, placing all importance on the needs
of the individual.
Despite this societal disposition, I
believe that many young people of this
generation possess an ever-increasing
eagerness to live lives of meaning. With
all the serious setbacks brought on by
our new economic realities, the Gen-Y
generation still had the opportunity to
amass so much material stuff and travel
with unprecedented frequency. But these
fleeting objects and experiences do noth-
ing to quench their thirst for a purposeful
existence.
Just look at the new phenomenon in
alterna-
Israel in which sheirut leumi
tive voluntary national service for those

—

demand.
who cannot or do not serve in
Organizations throughout
the military — once was the
North
America that work
sole purview of the religious
with
young
adults have seen a
Zionist community. Recent
similar
phenomenon
and are
years have seen a rise of new
working
in
partnership
to cre-
organizations such as Ma'ase,
ate
structures
permitting
all
Shlomit and Sheirut Leumi
of
us
to
better
respond
to
this
Mamlachti empowering young
yearning.
Recently
a
new
orga-
adults of Israel's secular com-
nization, Repair the World, was
munity to volunteer for a year of
Kenneth
established
to help coordinate
service before their obligatory
Brander
and
fund
successful
models of
time in the army or enabling
Special
this
kind
of
engagement.
It has
those exempt from army service
Commentary
even
created
a
website
allowing
who still wish to impact the
adults to find various short-
destiny of the State of Israel.
and
long-term
volunteer opportunities
These organizations are collectively serv-
around
the
world.
ing thousands.
In contrast to this vitality, we increas-
One illustration of the same develop-
ingly
hear of grayer boardrooms, the pass-
ment appears at Yeshiva University's
ing of philanthropists who supported our
Center for the Jewish Future, which sends
organizations, the thinning of the ranks of
nearly a thousand young adults on com-
dedicated volunteers and a dearth of pro-
munity initiatives, service learning trips
fessionals to service our many worthwhile
and experiential learning missions across
organizations.
the globe. And the New York-based center
So how do we in the Jewish communal
cannot keep up with ever-greater student

and educational world leverage the hunger
of the Gen-Yers to ensure the future health
of our institutions? More importantly, how
do we ensure that this new generation
brings its creativity, charisma and capacity
to the leadership table with a commit-
ment to Jewish ideals, guaranteeing the
perpetuation of the soul of our sacred
community?
We need look no further than these
forms of experiential experiences as a
start, for they transform young adults. I
have often shared with students that their
experiences on service missions should
empower them to understand why the
Hebrew word for giving, NaTaN, is a palin-
drome. For when one gives to another with
the sole purpose of effectuating change,
what one receives in return is as great or
even greater than the efforts expended.
We must share with our young adults
that participation in the identical rituals
in which our great-grandparents engaged
(and perhaps even using their candle-
sticks or kiddush cup for the Shabbat/

Open Doors on page 24

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