Jewish Federation of Cincinnati

David Harris

The David Project, with help from the Federation's Jewish Innovation Funds, brought seven student leaders from University of Cincinnati to Israel from December 26 to January 5 for a trip specially designed for influential student leaders. What did they think?

The David Project, with help from the Federation’s Jewish Innovation Funds, brought six non-Jewish and one Jewish student leaders from University of Cincinnati to Israel from December 26 to January 5 for a trip specially designed for influential student leaders. A truly impressive group of student leaders—two were elected President and Vice President of Student Goverment on March 10—they have had a chance to think about the trip, and this is what they said:

Ryan Kun

I wanted to see a new perspective of Israel. The David Project throws so much at you and you get to see the real Israel. It was extremely important to me to learn about the experiences of Druze, Arabs, Palestinians, Israeli Christians, and more so that I could come back with a deeper understanding of the situation. The David Project did an awesome job of showing us every side of Israel that allowed each of us to create our individual opinions. We saw that the issues are not black and white, a lot like the way things aren’t black and white in America. Regardless of our feeling about the conflict, once we got home, there seemed to be a shared love for Israel that we could all agree on. It’s pretty great. Overall I have such a deeper understanding of the country I love so much and I am so proud to have been able to go through this with an awesome group. 

Ryan Kun, who participated on the trip as a Jewish Israel advocate, David Project intern, and member of The David Project National Student Board, worked with a local newspaper on a feature about his relational advocacy work with The David Project and what it means on the University of Cincinnati campus.

Sinna Habteselassie

Originally when I heard about the trip, I was interested to visit a country with such a strong relation to my fellow Ethiopians. I knew of initiatives Israel had completed to bring Ethiopian Jews back, like Operation Moses, but didn’t realize the rationale or sense of belonging these Ethiopians felt towards Israel. When we finally arrived in Israel I felt welcomed in what seemed like foreign territory, and at home. At times, I would feel a sense of belonging enveloped in a piece of the Ethiopian Jews who had come to Israel. Coming from a campus community where it’s hard to find your identity represented, it was refreshing being able to build a cultural connection in Israel. I didn’t just get the chance to learn about Israel, but about my Ethiopian heritage, too. There’s a consistent theme of nationalism that plays strongly in every narrative you encounter and it stems from the deep love any person who visits both areas develops. Each unique in their own histories and cultures, Israelis and Palestinians share an ingrained devotion to the land. The David Project perpetually worked to let us hear both sides of the story and develop our own opinions. To characterize the conflict simply: it’s complicated. The experience of Israel Uncovered took the veil off how Israel is typically portrayed and offered the raw perspectives of the various people who call the country home. Looking forward to the day where there is peace.

Sinna, who is the newly elected Senator At-Large for Student Government, the Director of Ethnic and Cultural Affairs for Student Government, and the President of the Greek Diversity Committee at University of Cincinnati, found her connection to Israel by meeting Ethiopian Israelis both in the Jerusalem marketplace and at Yemine Orde Youth Village. Sinna, who is also a part of the University of Cincinnati African Student Association (UCASA), is organizing a screening of Mekonen, a documentary film about an Ethiopian soldier in the IDF, as a joint program with Hillel and UCASA.

Bashir Emlemdi

The history I saw there was amazing. The buildings of [that] area are thousands of years old. … That really resonated with me…. One thing I took away is that you don’t have to be pro one thing (and) be anti another.

Bashir, who is Muslim, spoke about his transformation on Israel Uncovered to members of the wider Cincinnati Jewish community soon after returning. Influenced by his father’s strong opinions on the subject, Bashir grew up feeling pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel. But when he visited Israel, those feelings changed. Throughout the trip, Bashir was able to look at Israel from multiple perspectives and learned about the need for a Jewish state after visiting Yad Vashem. Now Bashir says he still considers himself pro-Palestinian, but also pro-Israel. As of March 10, Bashir is the newly elected President of Student Government at the University of Cincinnati alongside Dana, another Israel Uncovered alum, who was his Vice Presidential running mate. The two are now vocal supporters of Israel within student government. This is the second year in a row that a pair of Israel Uncovered alumni have been elected to President and Vice President positions at University of Cincinnati. Bashir is a member of the Muslim Student Association and Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. 

Ramkiran Vencat

It has been almost 2 months since I was in Israel and I still have trouble putting the experience into words. Even though I only spent a short ten days in Israel, between the hours of adventures, cultures, and lifestyle that I experienced, I felt as if I had been there for years. Israel has taught me so much more about myself and the people around me than I have experienced in my four short years of college. The David Project and Israel will forever hold a special place in my heart, and I can’t wait to go back. L’Chaim! 

Kiran, who is Hindu, is the Outreach Director for Student Government and the Co-President of Midwest Dhamaka, a Bollywood dance competition hosted in Cincinnati each year.

Dana Drage

I’ve never really had to think about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I was raised in a Christian home in northern Ohio and even when I got to college, I never really was forced to confront the situation at all. People would mention it in passing or about the things they saw on the news, but I’d nod and smile and pretend to have an opinion if necessary. That’s a really scary way to live life; to be completely honest, it’s an unacceptable way to live life. When I heard about the opportunity to go to Israel with the David Project and see these things for myself, I was a strange mix of excited and scared and confused. Upon my return, I am still all of these things… but in a very, very different way. In addition, I also have hope, which is something I didn’t expect to gain. I saw 40 very Type-A crazy campus leaders (many of which will lead our world one day) in harmony and having difficult discussions that many people twice and three-times our age are unable to have out of fear. I learned that the solution to peace is not really a solution at all, but rather a process, similar to the process of the trip itself. The opportunity to unpack the conflict is one of the most amazing gifts I’ve ever been given, and will not be something I soon forget or become passive about. Not only that, I will never again live life nodding and smiling while I pretend to understand things. The David Project inspired me to be able to dig in, get my hands dirty, and to form my own opinions on everything the world throws our way.

Dana is a Senator for Student Government, part of its Governmental Affairs committee, and was recently elected Vice President of Student Government, along with her running mate, fellow David Project alum Bashir Emlemdi. 

Madison Landkrohn

This experience for me was transcendent, truly eye-opening and breath-taking. The feelings I felt—I may never be able to explain some of them. Israel holds so much beauty in such a small area. I would love to visit Israel again, hopefully soon, and learn so much more!

Madison, who is the Director of Women’s Affairs for student government, co-president of UC Feminists and a member of University of Cincinnati’s chapter of Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equality is working to organize an interfaith event with Hillel for Women’s Day.

Jacob Franzen

Wow. Israel. Such an incredible thing, but sometimes hard to put into words. My experience with the David Project was one that will never compare. It allowed me to truly feel in a way that I have never before. Being able to see places I grew up learning about like Jerusalem, Sea of Galilee, and the Mount of Beatitudes gave me a connection that I certainly missed whenever I heard about them. Being immersed in a place that I associated with such hate and fighting only to realize the amount of love that fills its borders made me want to cry for being so narrow. I never understood what Israel actually was, and now that I do, I love it with every ounce of my soul. The trip’s purpose was to expose campus leaders about what it actually is, and I can confidently say it was not only a step in understanding the place, but a step in understanding what’s important as we traverse our paths of life. I can go on and on about the details of what I felt or the technicalities of what is occurring there, but there is really one sentence that sums it up the best for me. Israel is a place to find you.

Jake is Student Government Treasurer and the New Member Educator for his fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha. He is also part of the Kolodiz Business Scholars Association.

Thanks to the generous support of a macrogrant from the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati’s Jewish Innovation Funds, the David Project—working with Cincinnati Hillel—was able to bring a delegation of seven students from the University of Cincinnati on Israel Uncovered, the David Project’s leadership trip for primarily non-Jewish student leaders. For more information about the Jewish Innovation Funds, visit jewishcincinnati.org/innovation.