My Relationship With Israel and How Hasbara Fellowships Has Changed it Forever (Malka Iskowitz, Binghamton University, Hasbara Fellow)
From the second I was born I was told to love Israel. I was taught to be a Zionist and have learned about Israel since Nursery school in my Jewish day school. I knew Israel was a place of EL AL planes, blue and white, lots of family, and the Kotel. Since I was young, In the back on my mind, I knew about wars and rockets and terrorist attacks, but that never stopped my family from going on vacation there. My parents always made sure our trips were filled with all the best places and seeing the most family that we could. When it came to my bat mitzvah I got the choice to either have a party in America with all my friends or travel to Israel and have a party at a girls’ orphanage in Jerusalem. Although I wanted the party with all my friends (like every 12-year-old girl wants), I couldn’t say no to a chance to go back to Israel. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.
I then went with my family again on vacation during the summer of 2014 for my brothers Bar Mitzvah. That summer happened to be the summer of Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. Although feeling very safe, I experienced a siren go off. It was at that moment that I realized there is more to Israel than all the food and fun places. We continued our trip and had a wonderful time, but I still had some fear knowing what could possibly happen in Israel. I never really thought much more about it until I had the opportunity to take an elective class senior year of high school called Israel advocacy. In that class, we learned the bare minimum of the conflict in Israel and I was also experiencing some senioritis where I wasn’t paying too much attention.
As I approached graduation it was assumed that I was going to spend a gap year in Israel before going off to Binghamton University for college. I attended a school called Midreshet Moriah in Jerusalem. It was one of, if not the most formative years of my life. I had learned a lot about myself, I had matured, I had learned Torah and philosophy, I had spent time with family, and I had grown a new love for Israel–not one that I have been taught to have but one I had worked on and formed all year.
Nonetheless the love and care for the land that I had were incomplete. I loved Israel but I barely knew anything about the conflict or really anything besides for the fact that I just LOVED Israel.coming to Binghamton, I quickly joined BUZO, the Binghamton University Zionist Organization. Once on the general board for 2 semesters, I ran for a position on the Executive Board. I was elected as the outreach coordinator and slowly learned more and more about the situation in Israel. Someone who went on the Hasbara Fellowships Israel Training Program before me told me about the opportunity and I could not turn it down. Hasbara Fellowships was exactly what I needed and wanted.
I have always considered myself an Israel advocate, and a Zionist and I honestly thought I knew what that meant. However, it wasn’t until Hasbara that I truly understood. Being pro-Israel doesn’t mean agreeing with everything that Israel does, it doesn’t mean that Palestinians aren’t struggling, and it doesn’t mean that someone with different views than you can’t sit down and have a conversation. Something I’ve learned from Hasbara Fellowships was listening to different narratives and although we may not agree, we should respect the other side. I hope for a future of conversations and respect and spreading the love of Israel!
