AU Hillel, a Jewish group on campus, is planning an alternative spring break trip to Argentina and a Birthright Israel trip for the spring semester. This comes after 13 students returned from a Birthright trip less than a month ago.
For 10 days in December and the beginning of January, AU Hillel sent 13 students from its campus to Israel through Birthright Israel, a partnership that brings together Israelis, Jewish philanthropists and Jewish American communities.
Mindy Hirsch, a first-year graduate student and Kay Engagement Fellow at AU, organized the group's trip.
Hirsch previously planned four other Birthright Israel trips while she was the director of programs at the University of Maryland. Hirsch said the birthright trips are non-denominational and non-political.
The purpose is to provide educational trips for Jewish young adults to get to know Israel. Nearly 78,000 people have been to the country through Birthright Israel, according to its Web site.
David Benzaquen, a junior in the School of Public Affairs, was one of the students who went on the December trip. Benzaquen wanted to see firsthand what the country was like.
"I was seven when I last went and don't remember much, if any, of it," Benzaquen said. "This time I was able to experience Israel much more fully. I could appreciate the culture, history and politics on a higher level. ... We saw many former battle sites and many places of biblical significance to all people of Abrahamic faiths."
Michelle Sandler, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, also went on the trip.
"I went because I wanted to experience Israel and also because it was free," she said. "I felt safe there - my parents were way more scared than I was."
She added that the group used a chartered bus instead of public transportation.
The group also avoids visiting places where violence could occur, Hirsch said. This made attendees feel safe, but also restricted.
"The trip was restricted to certain areas," Benzaquen said. "Even when we went out at night to clubs, the sites would be closed to the public. While this did make some feel safer, I just felt saddened that we had to remain as such outsiders while visiting Israel."
But avoiding violence didn't keep the group from going to other places.
"From the mountains to the desert, and everywhere in between ... it was a jam-packed couple days," she said. "We were busy and tired all the time."
Among the places they visited were Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Golan Heights and the Dead Sea.
"I think the trip is great," Sandler said. "It exposes you to a new culture and gives a whole new perspective on religious heritage."
The trips usually last 10 days, which is all the time that Birthright Israel will fund.
"[Ten days] is enough to get a taste of the country," Hirsch said.
Applications for the AU spring Birthright trip are being accepted and are available online at www.israel.hillel.org. More information about Birthright Israel can be found on its Web site, www.birthrightisrael.com.
