An incredible trip to Israel

From May 29 through June 9, I had an incredible opportunity to travel to Israel and learn firsthand about the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

The trip occurs once a year and is called the Campus Allies Mission, which is organized through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

As a participant in this year’s group of 39 student government and political leaders from across the United States, I can say my life was radically changed during the 11 days I spent in the beautiful country.

While all the participants came from different political and cultural backgrounds, the one thing that bound us together was how strongly we felt about the importance of the U.S.-Israel alliance.

The trip provided for us a unique chance to develop a personal story to tell so that we could come back home and share the truth about Israel.

While there, I had the privilege of meeting with top Israeli officials to learn more about the security and political situation on the ground. No words can describe the shock I felt after observing the reality on the ground and what is often reported to us back home here in America.

An example for me personally was the security fence that is being constructed between the predominantly Jewish area and an area known as the West Bank. The view of what is presented to us by the general American media and the reality on the ground are two completely different things.

Before the trip, I thought the fence was a concrete barricade separating two distinct peoples without regard to demographics. During the trip I was made aware that only 6 percent of the actual fence was this concrete barrier. The rest is a series of metal fencing.

I was also told by a former Israeli colonel in charge of part of the construction of the fence just how carefully the construction was planned with regard to demographics on
the ground.

Just one of the many benefits of the fence is that the number of suicide bombings originating from the West Bank has drastically decreased since the construction of the first section of the fence back in 2003.

Other excursions on the trip included visits to the Golan Heights, the Israeli Supreme Court and the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.

The one thing I noticed while traveling is just how physically small everything is there. As a result, every square mile holds so much more value.

I have not even begun to scratch the surface of being able to describe what the trip was like. It was an eye-opening experience to truly realize that Israel is one of America’s closest friends in the world. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put it right in a speech recently when he said “Israel is not what’s wrong with the Middle East. Israel is what’s right about the
Middle East.” 

This trip also helped me further understand when Netanyahu said in the same speech that the region’s problems are not solely rooted in Israel’s existence.

Israel’s enemies like to scapegoat it for the region’s problems while not even fully acknowledging that nearly the entire problem is within their own borders.

It seems as though the region’s despots have done a good job diverting their people’s frustrations toward Israel instead of being held accountable.

My heart for engaging in pro-Israel activism was only reinforced as I traveled to this country.

I would like to personally thank the AIPAC staff and supporters for making this trip possible for all of us.

­— cjcaudill@indiana.edu