My Journey to Rothberg International School: Part III

Big Skies in Jerusalem (View From HebrewU's Education School)

A few weeks after I arrived in Israel, I began meeting with Professor Gad Yair as part of his research study exploring cultural differences between Israelis and Americans. Professor Yair is a former academic director of the Rothberg International School’s (RIS) graduate programs and the current director of the Research Center for Innovation and Education at Hebrew University.

My numerous conversations with Professor Yair helped assuage the anxieties I felt about standing out and being different when I first moved to Israel. Most importantly, our discussions enabled me to understand that cultural differences between Israelis and Americans – and the impact those differences have on individuals – are real.

This may seem obvious. At first, I thought it was. I’ve studied Israel and the greater Middle East region for many years. Even before I moved, I knew – in an intellectual sense and on a theoretical level – that cultural differences between Israelis and Americans exist. However, after I arrived in Israel, I learned quickly that knowing about cultural differences does not equate to living, working, and learning within the milieu of those differences. In short, knowing and experiencing are distinct and often divergent phenomena.

To be clear, I do not believe that relationships between Israelis and Americans are defined by difference. In fact, a shared sense of humanity characterized by friendship, compassion, humor, and hospitality has allowed me to gain a strong foothold in Israel and provided me with the courage to take the first steps of my new journey at RIS.

RIS has given me the unique opportunity to live, work, and learn in a diverse community composed of – and colored by – both cultural differences and cultural similarities. Through my collaborations with Professor Yair and other faculty members at RIS and HebrewU, I’ve learned to identify, name, navigate, appreciate, and grow from my everyday encounters with cultural norms – whether they are different or similar to those with which I am familiar as an American.

Jerusalem Marathon and the Old City

To conclude this post, here are some of my favorite things about Jerusalem:

  • The skies over the city always seem bigger and more majestic than skies anywhere else in the world.
  • Jerusalem has the biggest and most diverse batches of sufganiyot (Hanukkah doughnuts) in the country!
  • The coexistence of old and new in Jerusalem is awe-inspiring. (The accompanying photo shows a sign for the 2018 Jerusalem Marathon, located right outside the gates of the Old City).

Fun Facts about Jerusalem

  • 874,000 residents
  • 2,000+ active archaeological sites
  • 50+ churches, 33 mosques, and 300 synagogues
  • 60+ museums
  • 1,500+ public parks and gardens
  • Some of the olive trees in Jerusalem are more than 800 years old.
  • There are more than 26 wineries in and around Jerusalem.
  • There are more than 50 Christian churches, 33 Muslim mosques, and 300 Jewish synagogues in the city.
  • Jerusalem hosts more than 30 annual festivals for everything from opera to film and from books to wine tasting, the most in all of Israel.
  • Jerusalem hosts Israel’s second-largest Pride parade, which draws more than 25,000 marchers.
  • Jerusalem has over 2,000 archeological sites.
  • There are 90 hotels in Jerusalem hosting over 9,000 hotel rooms.
  • There are over 6,000 species of plants in the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens.
  • Jerusalem has 1,578 public gardens and parks

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Pre-Semester Program: “Encountering Jerusalem” 2023-24
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Pre-Semester Program: “Encountering Jerusalem” 2023-24
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Practical Hebrew Beginners4 credits
Modern Standard Arabic Beginners 5 credits
Jerusalem: A Journey Through Time and Space3 credits
Pre-Semester Program: “Encountering Jerusalem” 2023-24
Spring
Practical Hebrew Beginners 4 credits
Israeli Society3 credits