Masa Israel Journey Blog

The Power of Education

Published : January 07, 2013

By Dan Kassner, Israel Teaching Fellows

Education is something that is experienced and shared universally.

Yet, education means very different things to different people. It can be used for good, to create discussion and to challenge opinions, or it can be abused and used for hate.

My interest in education is what first inspired me to enroll in Masa Israel’s OTZMA Israel Teaching Fellows, a 10-month Teach for America-style program in Israel.

Not only was I excited to become absorbed in Israeli culture, but I was also looking forward to experience teaching in a foreign classroom.

When I first entered the Naomi Shemer Elementary School in Petah Tikva in October, I almost felt like I was walking into East Elementary School in...

The Oddest of Couples

Published : January 03, 2013

By Anna Kaminsky, Hebrew University

I spent the best six months of my life studying at the Masa Israel-accredited Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The things I did, the things I learned, the people I met – I will never forget any of it. But one of the things I will cherish most is the friendship I developed with a guy named Ghassan.

Ghassan is a year and a half younger than me but you would never know it. He has Mediterranean skin, shaggy dark brown hair, and inviting dark brown eyes. His smile is genuine and his laughter contagious.

He lived in the building next to mine in the student dorm village, and he was also friends with some other guys I knew. I met him one night when we all hung out downtown.

He wasted no time. Right off the...