From the 12th to the 16th of February, the students of EMIS participated in the highly anticipated Mission Week of 2023! This year’s Mission Week focused on the city of Jerusalem and the history and controversies surrounding it.
Before the students went to explore the city themselves, they had two preparation days filled with activities, workshops, and lectures meant to teach them about the issues they are about to explore and give them tools to explore them.
One session included workshops relating creativity and expression, which helped equip the students with the right tools to engage with the issues they see around them. This included workshops by Israeli director and actor, Maor Zaguri, Israeli musician David Broza, Israeli choreographer Galia Fradkin, and Israeli visual artist Asaf Elkalai, all organized by the CRC.
During these preparation days, thanks to the Charney Resolution Center, we also had the honor to hear from Dr. Sapir Handelman about the success and failure of solution focused negotiation. And later, we heard from Palestinian activist, Suliman Khatib and Israeli activist, Alit Wiel Shafran about their personal stories and how they shaped them into the activists they are today, showing the students what we can achieve by working together.
After the preparation days we all headed out to Jerusalem! The tour of Jerusalem was carried out in five groups, each lead by a small group of students who created the journey they wanted the students to experience. Since this year all groups are touring the same city, the groups are separated by themes: History and Culture, Community and Ecology, People and Governance, Shared Society, and Spirit of Jerusalem. I went on the History and Culture trip. We visited the Islamic Art Museum, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Western Wall, Tower of David and much more. We finished with a fun activity of pottery painting and some free time in the Machne Yehuda market. After the second day of the tour, all groups went to meet in Kfar Hanokdim, near the dead sea. We watched the sunrise in Massada and had a tour of Kibbutz Ein Gedi.
Overall, this year’s Mission Week was a great experience for both students and staff. The Mission Week leaders who planned the tours did amazing jobs and created five enjoyable and meaningful trips. The preparation days gave relevant and helpful information for the students and included some great workshops and lectures organized by EMIS and by The Charney Resolution Center. It was great experience running the event as well together with Shammah Kiunsi.