{"id":240232,"date":"2026-01-30T07:17:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T12:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=240232"},"modified":"2026-01-30T12:56:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T17:56:56","slug":"uconn-students-transformative-journey-to-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/01\/uconn-students-transformative-journey-to-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Students Describe Transformative Journey to Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Jan. 1, 19 <\/span>University of Connecticut<\/span>\u00a0stude<\/span>n<\/span>t<\/span>\u00a0leaders<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>went on a 10-day transformative trip to Israel.\u00a0<\/span>Students listened to speakers from\u00a0<\/span>different backgrounds<\/span>\u00a0and asked questions to learn more about the geopolitic<\/span>al makeup<\/span>\u00a0of the Middle East.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/span>itinerary included<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>daily\u00a0<\/span>site visitations and\u00a0<\/span>evening\u00a0<\/span>processing sessions<\/span>\u00a0where students\u00a0<\/span>shared reflections on what they observed, learned, and felt.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Speakers included prominent Israeli Arab<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>news anch<\/span>or<\/span>\u00a0Lucy<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Aharish<\/span> and Palestinian-American journalist Rami Nazzal.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UConn Hillel Executive Director Edina Oestreicher organized the trip using a greater than $100,000 grant<\/span>\u00a0from<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Maccabee Task Force \u2013 an organization with the mission to combat antisemitism across university campuses. The first trip happened in\u00a0<\/span>January\u00a0<\/span>2023,<\/span>\u00a0and this is the second\u00a0<\/span>time<\/span> UConn Hillel has been able to bring students to Israel.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The group\u00a0was\u00a0comprised\u00a0of five Jewish students\u00a0and\u00a0fifteen non-Jewish students.\u00a0Speaking about the trip\u2019s\u00a0importance,\u00a0<\/span>Oestreicher says it\u2019s to have firsthand experience learning about the geopolitical situation in the Middle East and to build relationships between Jewish and non-Jewish student leaders.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about changing people\u2019s minds; it\u2019s about giving them more information,\u201d she says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Oestreicher emphasized\u00a0that the\u00a0<\/span>trip\u00a0aligns with\u00a0Hillel\u2019s\u00a0priority to bring diverse groups of students together for thoughtful and respectful\u00a0conversation;\u00a0regardless of faith, identity, background, or perspective. \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe trip\u2019s goal is to provide students with an opportunity to explore the region\u2019s complex history, grapple with nuanced political and religious realities, and explore the conflict from various perspectives,\u201d she says. <\/span>Oestreicher<\/span> said it\u2019s important for Hillel to organize this trip to connect some of the university\u2019s most influential student leaders to each other, to engage in meaningful conversation. Participants then partake in outreach to share their experience with the campus community, spreading awareness and diverse perspectives from the trip.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eva Dannison ’27 (CLAS), a junior political science and human rights double major, says she was craving an immersive experience. \u201cWe don\u2019t have the spaces to be having these open conversations. [The Israeli-Palestinian conflict] is very polarized.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She says an apprehension she had prior to the trip was that there would be bias toward one side but said that was quickly disproven.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She says she came into the trip with an open mind and said her experience \u201cdissolved the two-sided nature that western media portrays this conflict as.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nathaniel Putnam ’26 (CAHNR), learned about the trip from the Daily Digest. \u201cI realized I was carrying a lot of baggage from horrifying news stories in my subconscious,\u201d he says. \u201cThis trip was going to provide some context and place me amongst the people affected.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Participants gather for an evening processing session on Jan. 7 at Danny\u2019s Farm, a center in Israel offering a unique rehabilitative and therapeutic approach to combat trauma (contributed photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The group visited the sites of the Nova music festival massacre and Hamas\u2019 attack on Kibbutz Kfar Aza, which occurred on Oct. 7, 2023. Students spoke with a survivor from each site and were able to witness firsthand the memorial that was in place at the music festival location and throughout the destroyed houses in the living community. <\/span><\/p>\n

Putnam says this trip equipped him with the context he was seeking. \u201cWe\u2019re so removed from the conflict, you only know if you go. I wouldn\u2019t dare have an opinion if I hadn\u2019t been there and spoken to Israelis and Palestinians.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From saying prayers at the Wailing (Western) Wall, to walking in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, students also visited the Old City of Jerusalem to learn about and experience the holy sites for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Putnam\u2019s favorite moments were praying at the Western Wall and walking the Via Dolorosa\u00a0\u2013\u00a0the Stations of the Cross.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPraying at the Wailing Wall was the closest I have ever felt to other people\u2019s consciousnesses. I could feel other people\u2019s prayers smacking me in the face, reflecting off the wall. My desire to have some spiritual connection to the Holy Land on this trip was certainly fulfilled,\u201d Putnam says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lance Mendoza, a sophomore economics and allied health sciences major, also learned about this opportunity through the Daily Digest and was intrigued.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was a good opportunity to learn about the conflict and how it\u2019s affecting the people living there,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

He says his favorite speaker was <\/span>Yadin Gellman, an actor and combat soldier in the Israel Defense Forces who was gravely injured on Oct. 7, 2023. H<\/span>e says Gellman was the speaker that resonated with him the most because of \u201chis love for the arts, which showed how everyone living there has been affected by this conflict. It was eye-opening how he pursues his passion even though the conflict persists.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sacha Lyons ’28 (CLAS), a political science and economics double major, attended the trip to \u201ceducate and show people who don\u2019t know much about the conflict what\u2019s going on in the region.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He was one of the five Jewish students in attendance, and says this trip was for students to see different perspectives and share what they learned with the greater student body. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He says he wanted to see a combination o<\/span>f recent and more historic memorial sites, <\/span>such as the location of the Nova<\/span> music festival<\/span> and Yad Vashem, the <\/span><\/span>World Holocaust Remembrance Center,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>because of the settings’ intense and effective ability to have stories of those <\/span>affected by massacre and genocide<\/span>\u00a0heard.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Emerson Zecena ’28 (CLAS), says he wanted to learn firsthand from both pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian individuals. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to develop a new perspective for myself,\u201d Zecena says. He says he returned home from the trip and was able to formulate his own opinion on the conflict without letting the media and his personal relationships sway his perception.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow much do we really know what\u2019s going on?\u201d Ruy Fernandez ’26 (CAHNR), asks.<\/span> He wanted to visit the country and see the daily life of those living in Israel.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the trip, students were also introduced to the\u00a0<\/span>Druze community<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and the Ethiopian Jews that call Israel home.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fernandez says it was eye-opening to see the Druze community members, Israeli Arabs, and Jews coexist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet he says the most impactful experience was visiting the site of the Nova music festival. Fernandez scanned a QR code on one of the victim\u2019s memorials and saw videos of an unraveling of events, from the victim dancing, to hearing gunfire, to her shot and dragged to a bomb shelter, to finally her making it into an ambulance that was shortly hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fernandez says he came into this trip with a certain perception and left with the conclusion that the conflict is \u201ccomplicated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Samuel Alvarez ’28 (CLAS), a political science and human rights major, wanted to participate in this experience to educate himself and his peers. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Students listen to Palestinian journalist Rami Nazzal as they overlook an Israeli neighborhood and Palestinian neighborhood on Jan. 6 (contributed photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI lacked so much knowledge about Middle Eastern conflict,\u201d Alvarez says.<\/span><\/p>\n

He says he did not know what occurred on Oct. 7, 2023, and shares two of his most meaningful experiences. Visiting the sites where the Nova music festival and Kfar Aza massacres happened was emotional and informative. The second meaningful experience was with Palestinian speakers such as activist Mahmood El Motaseb, where he shared his friend\u2019s experience of being taken into custody within the West Bank for no stated reason by the Israel Defense Forces. Alvarez also highlights a lesson from Palestinian journalist Rami Nazzal. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Students saw the wall that divided the West Bank and Israel. Nazzal discussed how the wall causes more fear for both Palestinians and Israelis and shared how deep relationships exist between the two groups.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be generalizing the Israeli people and the Palestinian people,\u201d Alvarez says<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0emphasizing a distinction between govern<\/span>ing bodies and civilians<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To students who are skeptical of\u00a0<\/span>attending<\/span> a future trip<\/span>, Alvarez advises: \u201cStay skeptical<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0but be open-minded enough to hear things that will make you uncomfortable<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0bec<\/span>ause conflict\u00a0<\/span>shouldn\u2019t<\/span> be comfortable. It is gruesome, it is vulgar, and it is atrocious<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>B<\/span>y seeing that and feeling\u00a0<\/span>that,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>we come to a better understanding of the world around u<\/span>s.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

History, faith, and geopolitics came alive for University of Connecticut students during an immersive journey throughout Israel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":237,"featured_media":240443,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2224,2467,2473,99,2235,2306,2458],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2706],"class_list":["post-240232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cahnr","category-global-cultures-perspectives","category-human-rights","category-student-life","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-voices","category-undergraduates"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-08 19:23:23","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/237"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240232"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240480,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240232\/revisions\/240480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/240443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240232"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=240232"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=240232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}