A Year Abroad at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
As part of MLibArts at Bristol, I decided to spend my year abroad at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) due to my interest in Middle Eastern History. The historical, religious, and cultural diversity of Jerusalem alone is enough for a lifetime of study, but the stark differences between this city and Western Tel Aviv and Muslim Akko right next to secular Haifa offer a brilliant in-situ experience of the complexities of this Middle Eastern country. That’s before you even get to Palestinian Ramallah, Hebron and Bethlehem. Altogether HUJI and its hugely significant location has provided me with the most educational year of my life.
View of Jerusalem from HUJI’s campus on Mount Scopus (left) and RIS on HUJI’s Mount Scopus campus (right)
As an international exchange student, you have access to courses at both the Rothberg International School (RIS - pictured above) and at the main faculties of the Hebrew University, allowing you to experience classes with other international students as well as Israelis and Palestinians. Having such internationally diverse classes brings much fruitful and often entertaining discussion, except if you’re British and the only time your country ever seems to be mentioned is when it’s causing yet another colonial disaster. Thankfully people take this in a very jovial way often looking at me and saying, “classic Britain!”.
HUJI Opening Event with friends (headliners included the famous Israeli Noga Erez)
In classes at HUJI’s main faculties, teaching almost always turns into a debate, especially when we’re discussing conflicts occurring currently. It’s incredible that even though there is a conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, people in my classes (Israelis, Druse, Samaritans and Palestinians) are very open to talking amicably about the situation – something I did not expect but loved witnessing! Every student I’ve met, wherever they’re from, has been so friendly and at HUJI’s Opening Event in the first week of the semester (pictured above), it was so uplifting to see that even with the wider political issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, everyone just enjoys partying together.
Although Jerusalem is a modern-day city, its historical, religious and cultural roots are still integral to the city’s everyday life and are immediately visible, especially in the Old City. Karen Warren expressed this after her visit in 2022, stating: ‘History and religion have made this an exceptionally diverse city: Jerusalem is home to many subgroups, both racial and religious.’[1] Indeed, there are many: Palestinian Jews, Palestinian Muslims, Palestinian Christians (here since the days of the Ottoman Empire and the British Mandate of Palestine), black Jews (mainly from Ethiopia) and white European and North American Jews who have made Aliyah (emigrated), Christian Israelis and secular Israelis.
Dome of the Rock on Temple Mount, Old City of Jerusalem
In the Old City, the grand Dome of the Rock (pictured above) and Al-Aqsa Mosque stand on the current Muslim Temple Mount. Below to the west lies the Western Wall of the original Jewish temple that fell in 70 AD, at which Jewish men and women pray and often verbally cry out, as they pray for the Messiah to come and restore the temple. Such inspired the site’s alternative name, ‘the Wailing Wall’.
Meanwhile the Via Dolorosa winds through the Old City’s passages to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was crucified and buried. Walking around these key sites provides you with an encounter with just about every sub-group I listed above who, although it may not sound like it from the media, generally live in peace and harmony.
Travelling round other parts of Israel (Tel Aviv, Haifa, Akko) and the Palestinian cities of Ramallah (capital of the Palestinian Authority) and Bethlehem has of course been a real highlight of my year abroad as, regardless of people’s opinions on what belongs to who, the countryside is beautiful and the cities are each filled with such different, vibrant cultures. Hiking in the rocky, scalding hot, desert hills around Ein Gedi (pictured below) makes the hidden waterfalls enclaved in the rocks even more welcoming.
Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, by the Dead Sea
Akko - view of Al-Jazzar Mosque
In the north, Haifa and Akko (pictured above) hold the centre of the modern Baha’i faith and a historic crusader city that is now a Muslim haven in an Israeli city. Bethlehem, of course, portrays its Palestinian identity proudly, as well as having political murals by Banksy painted on the ‘security fence’ between Israel and the West Bank. Pictured below, this Banksy seemingly indicates how Israel targets those offering peace, but sadly not a lot of peace is offered in practice between both governments.
Banksy drawings on the way into Bethlehem and ‘Welcome to Palestine’ sign
Christmas in Bethlehem is understandably a wonderful experience, especially for Christians such as myself as there is a huge gathering on Christmas Eve around the Church of the Nativity (picture above right). Finally, Tel Aviv provides a great outlet for partying and some more liberal living, especially with its huge LGBTQ+ community!
Christmas in Bethlehem (left) and Hannah Hamborg (another Bristol Liberal Arts gal) and I in Tel Aviv (right)
Grace Gregory, 3rd year, MLibArts - History pathway
References
[1] Karen Warren, ‘Religion, Race And Culture: The Astonishing Diversity Of Jerusalem’, Worldwide Writer (16 July 2022).