By: Austin Pellizzer, Carleton University, Hasbara Fellow
Anyone who has had the privilege of being able to visit Israel has faced a complicated and complex reality that has shaped their own understanding of how this state works as a whole. Not just internally but also on the world stage that has created an Israel narrative that they will carry for the rest of their lives. This is to say my journey to the Holy Land in particular was one of history, friendship and indescribable emotions that will not just carry with me for the rest of my life but will help me advocate and fight for the nation I love, all thanks to the organization Hasbara Fellowships. The sights, sounds, people and knowledge experienced on a daily basis has not only left me aching to return where my heart feels most welcomed and free, but also to continue to inspire people to not just join this life changing organization which is like my second family but also to help them shape and create their own ‘why’ and personal connection to a land that has been rich with memories and history for thousands of years. While finding myself was a big part of this experience that Hasbara was able to help with, being able to meet and hear from peoples’ lived experiences was something that still moves me to this day and really shows me how the stereotype of how Israel is only for the Jewish people is really anything but this.
Throughout this trip I was able to meet and interact with a diverse array of people who make Israel a unique and multi cultural nation unlike any other place in the region. From the Israeli Druze community I was able to experience dinner with, to an Israeli Arab who gave me a new understanding of the counties minorities and even to an Ethiopian Jew who fled to the Holy Land with her family by foot, it really is hard for me to pin pot and directly discuss a person or interaction which did not have an impact on the way I see the world and Israel. This being said one individual’s story that still moves me and makes me remember my ‘why’ on a constant basis would be a strong, intelligent and amazing woman named Kay Wilson.
I had the honour of meeting Kay on the first couple of days in the city of Jerusalem. She was able to show my group of other fellow students from around North America a strategic and detailed tour of the old city which is a beacon of coexistence and culture between four different peoples and histories. On this tour we were exposed to the peoples, languages and stories that demonstrate why the Old City of Jerusalem is still such a significant part of history, modern cooperation and peace building. While this visit and interaction with Kay was very much interesting and one of education, it quickly turned into an experience of heartbreak, sadness and tragedy. It was in the Arab quarter of the old city tucked in a small room where fellow students and I sipped on Turkish coffee where we were first introduced to Kay’s background and life event that change her life forever. Kay, originating from the United Kingdom told us the story about moving to Israel and becoming an individual who would share her passion of Israel and the old City of Jerusalem by touring people around and exposing them to the realities in the city. She went on to discuss how one day a friend of hers from back home visited for a while in Israel. Like usual she would tour them around and take them to places not everyone is able to go. One place was the dome of the rock (or Temple Mount). She told us about how she and her friend where walking on a hillside in this area when they were both attacked by a Palestinian terrorist with a knife. Kay went on to talk about the terrifying events that not only left her close to death, but sadly left her friend killed as a result. She then had the strength to crawl a great distance to get helped and saved by bystanders. Listening to this story and seeing my friends faces in disbelief, heartbreak and shock, I couldn’t help but let tears out as Kay was able to stay strong and emotionless though this whole story and tell each detail that she remembered that could have potentially been her last. While this story not only made me feel determined and wanting to stick up for people who aren’t around to tell their own, one memory that still rings deep in my heart and makes me emotional to this day was when she was able to face her attacker in court. It was then when the prosecution asked the attacker why he did such a terrible act, when he smirked and said, “Because I thought she was a Jew…” These very words not only dug deep into my memories, but also it became real to me the immense danger and possibilities that face not just Israelis but Jews living in such a hostile place in the world. This sparked my personal roll in how to carry on my advocacy work through people’s stories like Kay’s and apply them to the knowledge this trip was able to provide.
While Kay’s story is a personal one, the way I have been able to listen, consider and cherish peoples narratives has helped me understand the bigger picture of why programs like Hasbara Fellowships exist. It is not simply to learn new skills, visit places or make new friendships which will last a lifetime. But rather it is to build connections to strangers you never knew before, see new and unique things that spark your wonder and make meaningful interactions and memories that will drive the internal fire for Israel advocacy. All this being said, with the experience and new adventures this trip was able to provide for me I hope I will inspire friends and generations to follow by trying to tell the peoples of Israel story which is one of perseverance, struggle and victory in the face of death. This is my ‘why’.
