Thanks to the trip, I now have thousands of images and memories that begin to hint at the many Israels

I knew little about Israel before the study seminar. Thanks to the trip, I now have thousands of images and memories that begin to hint at the many Israels. Israel, like many places on earth, is many things to many people. We were exposed to present day realities from the many people we met and Avi’s thoughtful understanding of the past and present. In contrast to the historical Israel is the Israel of the present, prospering greatly economically and culturally, while suffering the pains of being on and off at war, we were able to see the everyday Israel through the eyes of the family we stayed with. We were touched by our hosts’ generosity and moved by their anguish at having their oldest son, a soldier, stationed in Gaza.