The following is a blog entry written by Leah Karchmer, Hasbara Fellow from DePaul University in Chicago who is participating on the winter Israel program.

From the holy center to the urban center, today began with an early morning departure from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.

On our way to the city, we stopped off first at the Hiriya Recycling Plant, where we learned about Israel’s achievements in environmental sustainability. Upon arriving to the plant, the pungent smell served as a pretty harsh wake up call to those of us who had taken the drive as a napping opportunity. However, our initial appall quickly turned to fascination, and even a few jokes, as we learned from our tour guide, Noa, about Israel’s history regarding environmental sustainability efforts. Amongst the vast amount of information she gave us, I think the message conveyed to all of us from Noa’s presentation was that like countries all over the world, Israel faces a number of challenges in the way of environmental sustainability, but has demonstrated a clear determination to improve its sustainability and continues to seek new and innovative ways to better manage its waste. Further, the responsibility taken by the Israeli society to recognize the environmental challenges and pursue a solution that would not only rectify the situation, but turn it around to benefit the community reflects the ambitious spirit that we have seen in every sphere of the Israeli mentality.

Following our visit to the recycling plant, we got back on the road and headed for Tel Aviv. Undeterred by the mass garbage heaps we had just seen, we had by then worked up quite the appetites, and what better place for a lunch break than on the beach in Tel Aviv? After lunch, we went to the hotel, where we heard a presentation by Natalie about how to answer difficult questions about Israel that we would likely be confronted with on campus. The presentation was not only helpful in terms of preparing us to combat likely challenges, but was also incredibly informative, and sparked a great deal of dialogue amongst the audience.

Finally, after having checked into our rooms, we headed back for the bus and left to pay a visit to Save A Child’s Heart (SACH). Although many of us had heard of and were at least slightly familiar with SACH, the experience of hearing from the organization and seeing the children first-hand was one that tugged at all of our heartstrings. The inspirational message of the work done by SACH was undeniable, and demonstrated, beyond a doubt, that Israel goes above and beyond to provide humanitarian aid all over the globe. The experience proved not only to be incredibly powerful for each of us as individuals, but also provided us with a clear example of Israel’s ceaseless value for human life that goes far beyond borders and politics, which we will be able to use in our Israel advocacy initiatives on campus.

The night was topped off with a quick session led by Eli about the issue of Delegitimization versus Criticism and what exactly it means to be an Israel advocate. The presentation sparked a great deal of discussion, and touched upon a number of key issues that seemed to be relevant to all of us in the audience, such as when it might be appropriate to criticize Israel, to what degree, and in what context. Ultimately, this, and each of the sessions we have engaged in, have opened the door to communication and allowed us to further develop our advocacy skills by sharing with each other our different experiences and learning from our leaders what approaches will prove most effective. Overall, I have found that each of the workshops, speakers, and presentations we have participated in have contributed a different piece of the puzzle, ultimately, providing us with a cohesive framework for how we can best tackle the tremendous challenges we face on campus.