Israel Project Weeks 1-2: 03/23 - 04/06

I think it’s safe to say that since senior send-off day, things have been very eventful for me. First there was the senior trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and that was really fun, but it’s irrelevant to my project.

On Saturday March 23, I flew to Charlotte, North Carolina for two reasons: to meet a really close friend of mine named Anastazie in person for the first time after being online friends for two years, and to lead a seminar at a Holocaust and Genocide Studies class at her high school. Unfortunately, the seminar went poorly to say the least, because I had banked on the assumption that I could spark a heated discussion amongst the class, but they refused to talk; even when I asked some very divisive (not political) questions, they somehow all sheepishly agreed to it. Regardless, getting to see one of my best friends in person for the first time was a moment I will never forget.

I returned to New York City on Tuesday March 26, only to leave to Israel on Thursday. I arrived in Israel on Friday, and stayed with my Uncle Steve (he’s my first cousin once removed but I call him my uncle) until Sunday, when I began my first week of volunteering on IDF military bases with a program called Sar-El. However, before I began my volunteering, the CEO of Sar-El had offered me the unique opportunity to sing Hatikva (meaning The Hope), the National Anthem of the State of Israel, on stage in Jerusalem in a chorus of other volunteers with Israeli pop star and Eurovision 2023 bronze medalist Noa Kirel. So, on Sunday I went to Jerusalem, sang with Noa Kirel, and then immediately went with the rest of my volunteering group (now is a good time to mention that Jude Senker decided to volunteer with me for two weeks) to an IDF base at a location which I will not disclose for security purposes, arriving at midnight.

From Monday to Thursday April 1-4, we did non-combat duties, such as sorting through “good” and moldy mattresses, organizing warehouses, packing gear into backpacks, and sorting through live ammunition. I didn’t interview anyone this week, but I had some interesting and emotional conversations about emotional trauma following October 7. At the time of writing this, I’m staying at a friend’s house in Modi’in, and tomorrow morning, I leave again to a new IDF base at a location which has not yet been revealed to me.

Pic 1: Anastazie and I meet at last after a painfully long 2 years
Pic 2: I play guitar in uniform on the base (background blurred for security purposes)
Pic 3: You should never point live ammunition at your own head (background blurred for security purposes)