Overseas study to resume in Israel

Following a turbulent year, the Safety and Responsibility Committee of the IU Overseas Study Advisory Council has reinstated study in Israel for the spring term. Several University sponsored or affiliated programs were suspended July 31 due to heightened violence between Israeli and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon. \nKathleen Sideli, associate dean in the Office of Overseas Study, said typically each semester IU sends three to five students to Isreal. Most students who study in Israel go through IU's co-sponsored program at Hebrew University. However, Sideli said, this is not the first time the plan has been put on hold. \n"We suspended the program the first time in 2002, and prior to that time we had 10 students a semester, sometimes more," she said. "Between 2002 and 2005 it went down to about 3 to 5 students a semester because they were going independently without university permission." \nSideli said the overseas department reopened the Israeli programs for one semester last spring before the war took place, but the volume of students was still small. \nStudents wishing to attend any of the Israeli programs will be required to sign a special waiver specifying the necessary dangers of living in a country under a travel warning. Nevertheless, for those who lived the experience, even during the height of forceful clashes between opposing groups, life did not stop. \nSenior Rachel Schonwald studied in Jerusalem during the past spring semester and later chose to continue through August despite the conflict. She said she is excited the program has been reinstated and supports the University in its decision. The month-long ceasefire seems reasonable enough to allow students to study abroad in Israel again, she said. \n"Yes, there is danger. There is always danger. It is just a different kind of danger than one finds in other places," Schonwald said. "The chance of a war or conflict breaking out is much higher than it is in Israel which brings with it entirely different consequences. (However) the crime rate in Israel is very low, and I feel much safer in that sense than I do in Bloomington."\nIn light of the lifted student study ban, IU is taking the necessary precautions to warn all curious travelers. The overseas office Web site warned students of the risks they take, especially when travel warnings have been issued by the U.S. Department of State.\nSideli said the overseas office maintains regular contact with IU students and officials at the universities where students stay. Both groups keep the overseas study department informed on a frequent basis, she added. \nFor some students, their time in the politically-charged nation was a humbling experience, with tragedy hitting close to home.\nSarah Kaplan has reason to call Israel her homeland. The IU senior spent her summer as a counselor for United Synagogue Youth's Israel pilgrimage program, in which she led a 6 week trip through Eastern Europe and Israel. \nDespite the travel warnings, she lived in Jerusalem one semester and in the south the other half. Eager for others to experience living in Israel, Kaplan said the ban is now lifted because of the active effort to restabilize and create calm in the region. \n"In the south, life continued as normal. People still walk the streets, go to work and play soccer in the park. Tourists are still out and supporting the Israeli economy and touring the sights. There were lots of smiles and regular, every day activities," Kaplan said. "Life goes on, and as a group, we got to soak up and enjoy all of those wonderful, positive moments that Israel was experiencing even in the most challenging of times"