SlamuelBTP is always correct.
So my school, every year, does a trip to Israel. It requires fund raising, and a sizable sum of money, it required a 12-hour layover in London, it requires parents who aren't too afraid of terrorist attacks, but the 8th Grade class goes every year.
As you can probably guess, I am in that class this year, and I went. To list what I did would take too long, and I'm kind of jet-lagged and tired, so I'll just list what thoughts stood out to me.
-First of all, how easy it is to be Jewish. When you look around in a street, it is uncommon to not find that a good amount of heads with kippot on them. There is a trumpet that sounds in Jerusalem as Shabbat approaches, and all stores close on Saturday. There is a minyan at synagogue everywhere, and there is a synagogue every corner in Jerusalem, not to mention the Kotel, where there are always several minyans, at any time.
This is a good thing, of course, but at the same time, it can be bad. One of the people that spoke to us explained how if you ask a kid in Israel what makes them Jewish, they respond that they have are Israeli, not their lineage or belief. Thanks to the Jewish environment, they consider Judaism the default, not something to be proud of or that should prove difficult. And if they leave Israel to a less Jewish environment and harder environment, odds are they will become less religious. It's sad how a truly proud, Jewish populace emerges only under external pressure.
[^Edited to elaborate^]
-Misinformation about the terrorist situation. The news would have you think that Israel is a warzone, and you can't step a foot without being shot at, but we had no trouble during our trip (we did get checked at some malls, the Kotel, and had a bodyguard, though). The place I was most scared at was the super-religious neighborhood called Mea Shearim.
Discuss.
As you can probably guess, I am in that class this year, and I went. To list what I did would take too long, and I'm kind of jet-lagged and tired, so I'll just list what thoughts stood out to me.
-First of all, how easy it is to be Jewish. When you look around in a street, it is uncommon to not find that a good amount of heads with kippot on them. There is a trumpet that sounds in Jerusalem as Shabbat approaches, and all stores close on Saturday. There is a minyan at synagogue everywhere, and there is a synagogue every corner in Jerusalem, not to mention the Kotel, where there are always several minyans, at any time.
This is a good thing, of course, but at the same time, it can be bad. One of the people that spoke to us explained how if you ask a kid in Israel what makes them Jewish, they respond that they have are Israeli, not their lineage or belief. Thanks to the Jewish environment, they consider Judaism the default, not something to be proud of or that should prove difficult. And if they leave Israel to a less Jewish environment and harder environment, odds are they will become less religious. It's sad how a truly proud, Jewish populace emerges only under external pressure.
[^Edited to elaborate^]
-Misinformation about the terrorist situation. The news would have you think that Israel is a warzone, and you can't step a foot without being shot at, but we had no trouble during our trip (we did get checked at some malls, the Kotel, and had a bodyguard, though). The place I was most scared at was the super-religious neighborhood called Mea Shearim.
Discuss.
Reality is the one that has it wrong.
