August 14, 2012 – Day 8

Our day began by visiting several Christian holy sites in the Galilee region of Israel.  University of California student Darren reflected on the experience,

“As a follower of Christ, words cannot do justice to the indescribable feeling of walking where Jesus Christ walked.  Being able to connect Capernaum and the Mt. of Beatitudes to the Bible further highlighted the historical context of the Christian faith within Israel.”

We then traveled to the Druze village of Daliyat El-Carmel where we had the opportunity to learn about the Druze community, which makes up only 1% of Israel’s population.  Sarah from Marietta College described,

“It was an enlightening experience that allowed us to hear from a non-Jewish sector of the country regarding their views on Israel, as well as their place in the society.  With extreme passion, the Druze man we met shared his loyalty and love for Israel and his Druze village… Even though [the Druze] are not Jewish, they felt a sense of belonging and acceptance in the democratic State of Israel.  It was a great experience to be welcomed into the Druze village, taste their delicious food, and interact with the people.”

As we headed south towards Tel Aviv, we stopped along the way to learn about an Israeli startup company called Better Place.  Joseph from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill shared,

“Before the trip we did some reading about the famous entrepreneurial spirit of modern Israel.  Today we got to see it firsthand… [Better Place] created a zero emission electric car and a network of charging stations throughout Israel… For Israel the situation is win-win-win: grow an exciting new idea, help save the planet, and free the country from the main natural resource of not-so-friendly neighbors.  The highlight of the visit?  We got to go on a test drive – the ride was super smooth and the car was quieter than my electric razor.”

Over dinner we learned about the situation in Iran from Meir Javendanfar, an Iranian-Israeli who lived in Iran during the 1979 revolution and is currently a Middle East Analyst and Director of the Middle East Economic and Political Analysis Company.  Nicole from the College of St. Elizabeth commented,

“Mr. Javendanfar did a masterful job at balancing his personal love and connection to both Iran and Israel with his professional expertise in the region…. Today’s talk really highlighted the necessity for the rest of the world to work with the people of Iran so as to force the Ayatollah government to either change its policies or abdicate its throne of totalitarian power.”

Posted in: Missions
Tagged: ADL, Campus Leaders Mission to Israel, Druze, Galilee