By: Andrew Valentine, Hasbara Fellow, Kent State University
I’m not sure where to begin, but I suppose near the beginning will work just fine. Last summer, from late July, to mid-August, I was granted the opportunity of a lifetime! Hasbara Fellowships welcomed me into their phenomenal program to tour and learn about the state of Israel. I won’t lie, I had some reservations at first, on account of I’ve only been out of the country once before. But I can say that without a doubt, this had been the single greatest trip of my life! I remember reminding myself constantly that I was in the Holy Land, because I’d never once thought that I would actually get to visit.
My Israel activism began when I was a junior at Kent State University. A Political Science major, I would always be in and around Bowman Hall, and one day I noticed a flier advertising Students Supporting Israel. I thought it looked very interesting and so I decided to contact the Outreach Chair of the group. I went to the first meeting and really enjoyed it. Throughout the rest of the semester I went to more and more events and tables and meetings, until I was finally elected Vice President. I generously accepted but suddenly realized that I had one problem; I had never been to Israel. I figured that surely I should have some experience in country if I am to defend her on campus here in the U.S. That’s when I was alerted to Hasbara Fellowships.
On the trip I met a lot of new people and created friendships that I will cherish for a lifetime. I will firmly say that if you want to learn how to advocate for Israel on your college campus, or anywhere in the world, Hasbara Fellowships is the program to join. The trips we took to various places around Israel worked hand-in-hand with the advocacy training we were entrusted with. I personally enjoyed riding in the bus and looking out the window at the beautiful Israeli countryside, knowing that this ancient land had been walked upon by some of the greatest figures in human history! Or if it was not the countryside, it was visiting the vibrant and fast-paced Israeli marketplaces in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Hasbara Fellowships gave me the opportunity to visit both the Kotel and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which have deep roots in my own religion. I would not have got to take in the majesty of the Old City of Jerusalem that so fluidly mingles with the skyscrapers and modern skyline of Greater Jerusalem. Or perhaps I would not have been able to hear stories atop the ruins of the many modern wars fought in the Golan Heights. And how could I forget about visiting the Cave of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Judaism’s second holiest city, Hebron. All I know is, if it was not for Hasbara Fellowships, I don’t think I would have been able to visit Israel, or become a greater advocate for the Jewish State. This was a phenomenal experience that I will hold dearly for my entire life.
