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Resources
and Frequently Asked Questions
Resources
 Books
Articles
& Periodicals
Films
Links
to Universities in Israel and Palestine
Links
to Relevant Organizations, Government Sites and Political
Parties
Links
to Great Spots in Jerusalem and Surrounding
Area
Sites
for Research and Information on the Region
Frequently Asked Questions
What
are the differences between doing an internship, taking the
journal writing course, or an elective at Hebrew
Univeristy?
What
is the apartment living like?
What
it is like to be non-Jewish in the Jewish
state?
What
it is like to be Jewish American in the Jewish
state?
What
was your Hebrew language learning experience
like?
What
was your Arabic language learning experience
like?
Post
Other Questions and Responses
Resources
Books
Jerusalem
- "A Walker in Jerusalem" by Samuel C.
Heilman
- "Jerusalem : One City, Three Faiths"
by Karen Armstrong
The Palestinian/Israeli
Conflict
- "Between Despair and Hope : Windows
on My Middle East Journey 1967-1992" by Margarita
Skinner
- "Children of Israel, Children of
Palestine : Our Own True Stories" ed. Laurel
Holliday
- "Fateful Triangle : The United
States, Israel, and the Palestinians" by Noam
Chomsky
- "Peace and Its Discontents : Essays
on Palestine in the Middle East Peace Process" by Edward W.
Said
Palestine
- "After the Last Sky : Palestinian
Lives" by Edward W. Said
- "Orientalism" by Edward W.
Said
Israel
- "Deliberate Deceptions: Facing the
Facts about the U.S.-Israeli Relationship" by Paul
Findley
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Articles &
Periodicals
Articles
- "Israel's Y2K Problem" New York Times
Magazine, October 3, 1999
Periodicals
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Films
- Women of the Wall, directed by Fay
Letterman
- Women in the Sun
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Links to
Universities in Israel and Palestine
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top
Links to
Organizations, Government Sites and Political
Parties
Israel
Palestine
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top
Links to Great
Spots in Jerusalem and Surrounding area
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top
Sites for
Research and Information on the Region
Israel
Palestine
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top
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the
differences between doing an internship, taking the journal
writing course, or an elective at Hebrew
University?
The journal class is an
opportunity to take a creative writing course focused around your
new surroundings and experiences. It is a great way to document
your trip and record your evolving sense of yourself and your
experiences in Israel. - Alexis Hyder
I found the journal class
really helpful in making sure that I consistently wrote my
experiences and impressions, something I am particularly glad to
have now. It was also great for the first time to get feedback
from someone about my personal writings, especially Linda, who is
so sensitive and supportive. However, the class was not focused on
critical responses to writing, rather improvement through writing
exercises and journal sharing. - Cynthia Rothschild
Doing the journal writing
course seemed to be a very warm and fuzzy experience. Let's all
feel good about ourselves now. The internship experience was much
more precarious and had the potential to be a lot of work and
stress. My internship was really fun and not quite as 'academic'
as some people's: I worked through Shatil (which places interns)
in an organization which is helping Ultra-Orthodox people who
become secular. I was working on my own, without much outside
support or direction, tutoring in English (really I was just
hanging out with people, going to bars and museums with them). I
was basically a friend for people, although my roommates joked
that I dated haredi men for my internship. -Ann
Cary
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What is the
apartment living like?
The apartments are great. They
give you a sense of independence and some distance from all the
other Americans at Hebrew U who are living in dorms. You can
become part of the neighborhood and access the city more easily.
-Ann Cary
Apartment living is wonderful.
It allows you to return each night to a place that comes to feel
like home. The accommodations are first-rate. Apartment living
helps to immerse program members into Jerusalem and their
neighborhoods. - Alexis Hyder
I think that everyone pretty
much agreed that the apartments were amazing. They were in a great
neighborhood, within walking distance of each other and the old
city, as well as a big park. There was also, for me, the aspect of
living with two great people, and feeling like I came home to
them, not just the place. - Cynthia Rothschild
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What it is
like to be non-Jewish in the Jewish State?
It can be difficult at times to
be non-jewish in Israel. At first, Shabbat was a tough experience
for me. Virtually everything in the city shut down and was
off-limits to me, and I was not engaging in typically Shabbat
activities. I felt very much like an outsider. However, as time
passed, I came to enjoy Shabbat as a respite from the rest of the
week. In addition, I enjoyed learning about the history of the
Jewish state, and studying society was easy, as we were immersed
in it. As an Arab-American in teh Jewish state, I appreciated the
comparative nature of the program. I think that much of what I
contributed to the program cam out of the fact that I was not
Jewish- Alexis Hyder
I never really felt my
non-Jewishness' since I am white and I think most people probably
assumed that I am Jewish at first glance. It is interesting being
an American in the Israeli State. Americans stick out because of
our differences in style. I think in teh pre-orientation they tell
you that Israel is very informal, casual place. Well, my
experience, especially with Israeli youth, is that many people are
very style conscious and don't dress casually. Many women don't
wear sneakers and jeans, which is what gives an American away
(along with American looking backpacks and school bags. If you
plan to hit the Israeli club scene and you want to blend in bring
some sleek black cloths and some heeled boots. -Ann
Cary
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What it is
like to be Jewish American in the Jewish State?
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What was your
Hebrew language learning experience like?
Because we studied Hebrew at
Rothberg, the international school at Hebrew University, the
quality of the Hebrew classes -- and especially the level of
seriousness of our classmates -- varied pretty widely. However, if
it's important to you to improve your Hebrew while in Israel,
Hebrew classes at Rothberg will definitely help; the amount of
Hebrew students learned dependent primarily on how much of a
priority they decided to make it, and you'll definitely learn at
least some Hebrew if you go to class regularly. While it's true
that I didn't need Hebrew to get around Jerusalem, having even a
little Hebrew made my interactions with bus drivers and
shopkeepers more interesting, and I felt that I understood Israeli
culture a little better because I was studying Hebrew. - Nellie
Zupancic
You don't NEED Hebrew in Israel
because alot of people speak English, so don't take it simply
because you think you'll need it (like I did). For me,
Introductory Hebrew class at the Hebrew U. was a painful
experience because I did not feel like studying and while you can
get by doing very little work, it makes class time excruciating
because I completely stopped caring. I would say don't take Hebrew
unless you have a real interest in learning the language (maybe
that's obvious). For me personally, now I would be more interested
in studying Arabic. But of course the benefit of taking Hebrew (or
perhaps a detriment, depending on how you look at it) is that you
are in class with other Americans who go to the Hebrew U, which
offers a chance for friendship outside the program or even
romance!! The Arabic program, at least last year, was a class only
of program people, and although it was held at Hebrew U., some of
them felt isolated from the other students there. - Ann
Cary
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What was your
Arabic language learning experience like?
I loved Arabic class. It is
difficult to practice Arabic in the community on a day to day
basis, but Omar reinforces material in class and through
occasional field trips. While we did not learn written Arabic, I
learned a good amount of beginning Arabic that I am building on
this semester. - Alexis Hyder
While I initially was very excited about
Arabic, I found it very frustrating to have such limited opportunities to use
what we were learning on a day to day basis, and not to be learning the
written language. Omar is a good teacher, and we certainly learned a lot for
the time we had. - Cynthia Rothschild
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Post Other
Questions and Responses
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If you have suggestions, questions or
comments about this page please email: Cynthia
Rothschild
Last Revised:
11/12/99
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