Day 9 - Sharoni Novick

​A whole different perspective. A whole new story. A side to Israel, unique to all of us.

When touring Israel, one can often expect to attain an understanding of the country at face value. An understanding of the history and the culture, mostly through tours and visiting sites. Today had an entirely different narrative, meeting and bonding with the students of Misgav. After a few awkward ice breakers, we quickly found we had far more similarities than differences. While our lifestyles have some distinctive differences, such as our means of transport for example - with the Israelis making use of hitchhiking and biking, with us - relying solely on the lifts of our tireless parents and Uber. Our similarities within the music we listen to and the tv shows we watch, giving us a simple basis for friendship. The talk on behalf of the bereaved parents, allowed us to put a face to the tragedy that is the Israel’s fallen soldiers. It was truly moving to understand that someone who grew up an ordinary kid, died a hero for his country.

Upon the arrival of the Arab students, deeper discussions revolving around living conditions, political opinions and the conflict quickly arose. Surprisingly, the Israeli students came across as having a far more left point of view than the Arab student - who argued the validity & necessity of a Jewish state whilst the Israeli’s arguing the validity of the conflict and aggression of the Palestinians. Both sides, however, identified as Zionists.

Learning about the Druze community and attending the Yom Hazikaron ceremony helped us to personally connect with the varying connections people have to this diverse country. Overall, today has given me a far deeper and more personal  understanding than any book or tour ever could.