Experiencing Israel with Galilee Institute

Read how Rebeka Valovičová from Slovakia, a recent graduate at the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies, experienced her time with us:

What do you think when you think of Israel?

Most of us probably bear in mind some basic and at the same time famous places and terms such as Jerusalem, Dead Sea, the Jewish nation, and of course, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, thanks to the Galilee International Management Institute´s (GIMI) programme, now we are able to say that Israel is even more.

The Centre of Middle East and Religious Studies at Galilee Institute provided us with the special summer programme “The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Understanding Both Sides” which took place between 3rd and 10th of August. During these 10 days, we lived in the city of Nazareth, we attended numerous attractive lectures, met people behind the headlines and joined study tours to some of the most fascinating Israeli places.

We got to know more about Israel and Palestine thanks to many lectures, delivered by professionals from the field. Dr. Guy Abutbul explained to us in detail the cultural specifics and elements of the Israeli society, which is influenced by different types of people like the Ashkenazi, the Sephardi, the Arab population or the ultraorthodox and secular people. As the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a complex conflict that needs to be understood by both sides, Mr. Elias Zananiri, Dr. Moshe Elad and Dr. Sapir Handelman were talking about the Palestinian point of view. From their perspective, the peace process depends on the borders, Jerusalem and the Palestinian refugees as the core issues. To better comprehend especially the current status between Israel and Hamas, Dr. Yaron Friedman described the roots and relations with the Fatah movement. The Oslo accord is perceived as the most successful Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement so far, and Dr. Yair Hirshfeld, who was among those working on the agreement, outlined the key subjects of the talks. Hopefully, there will be an accordance that will bring the conflict to the end in the future as both Israel and Palestine deserve peace and freedom.

Bethlehem’s Old City

Besides the lectures we were also discovering the country by visiting different places and sights. No matter if you consider yourself as religious; visiting the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem or Jerusalem´s Church of the Holy Sepulchre with many praying Christians will make you feel curios. The Basilica of the Nativity, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, is the oldest major church in the Holy Land and is on UNESCO´s List of World Heritage in Danger with the silver star marking the spot where Jesus was born. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre contains the two holiest sites in Christianity: the place where Jesus was crucified and his empty tomb, where he is said to have been buried and resurrected.

Speaking about religion, and more precisely, about specific community, have you heard about Druze? Probably not, however the Druze community became quite discussed recently. The reason? The so called Nation-State Bill, a controversial and debated law that “excludes” the Druze and doesn´t mention them at all, although they are important part of Israel, and mainly of the Israeli defence force (IDF). During the study tour through the beautiful and green Galilee´s landscape with Mr. Guy Malal we had a chance to meet with the religious representative of the Druze community. I´m sure that all of us was as amazed as I to meet such a nice, agreeable person and his interesting speech about the community.

A view of the Galilee

Mr. Avi Ben Yosef and especially Mr. Yahav Zohar brought us to the city of Jerusalem; in my opinion, there is no such a place in the world as Jerusalem. Regardless, if you consider the city as Jewish, Muslim or Christian, or you don´t think about any religion, there is no doubt that Jerusalem consists of a wide variety of people: the secular, ultraorthodox, locals, tourists, young people having fun or religious representatives, this mix of cultures makes the city so special. The rich history of the city is breathing in every single corner. Disregarding the complicated status, Jerusalem is a place worth to visit, especially the Western Wall, the Temple Mount and each quarter with its particular markets and shops.

To relax, and especially to have a fun and experience the extraordinary type of “swimming” we headed to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth and the deepest hyper saline lake in the world, which is 9.6 times as salty as the ocean.

Relaxing at the Dead Sea

There were many interesting and surprising subjects we were taught and we could see thanks to the GIMI programme. I´m confident to say that every participant enjoyed the tours, lectures, meeting with great people and most importantly, experiencing Israel.

Are you curious and want to take a closer look?

Join us for our next programme One Land, Two Peoples and Three Religions, 27 December, 2018 - 8 January, 2019.