A five-week learning opportunity at Hillel JUC is fostering an exploration of domestic policies and geopolitical affairs affecting the Jewish state. Led by University of Pittsburgh students Eden Brunner and Tamar Franbuch, Inside Israel welcomes students from Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University for lectures, meaningful discussion and dinner.
The student-led offering, which occurs on Tuesday evenings, enables participants to “debate the social, political and cultural issues facing Israel,” according to Dan Marcus, Hillel JUC’s executive director and CEO.
Each week, Brunner and Franbuch prepare materials to help spur conversation and new understanding.
“We’re trying to teach it from the perspective of two students that are both Israeli, or our parents are from Israel,” Brunner said.
Materials include those derived from research and personal experience, and address topics including regional affairs, U.S.-Israel relations and the Axis of Resistance.
Though the student-leaders integrate anecdotes and experiences within each meetup, statistics and other findings are culled from established publications, Brunner said. “Everything is being cited.”
What differentiates Inside Israel from other campus-based learning opportunities is the program is designed to not only bring people “up to speed on what is going on in the current landscape,” but focus on “what is the potential future of Israel in the region, and other countries in the region as well,” Franbuch said.
Apart from serving as co-leader of Inside Israel, Franbuch is studying psychology with a minor in law. Brunner is studying mechanical engineering and computer science. Having students with different professional interests — and coming from different campuses — has added a richness to the learning experience, the student leaders explained.
Marcus credited Brunner and Franbuch, Hillel JUC staff and the more than 20 participants for creating a framework to “engage with Israel in a highly sophisticated and challenging way.”
Franbuch returned the praise and said, “Without Hillel JUC, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to be able to lead this course.”
Brunner said she’s pleased to see so many people interested in the topic.
Despite their workload, classes and other commitments, students are “making time to attend these sessions and be a part of this community,” she added.
With the program culminating in the coming days, organizers have takeaways in mind.
Having seen the growth that’s transpired over recent weeks, the hope is that students refrain from seeing “everything at face value” and begin understanding that “not everything is black and white,” Franbuch said. “Especially now with the current climate on campuses, it’s really important to have these discussions and understand that at the end of the day, we can have different opinions of these discussions — we can disagree respectfully, of course — but when we leave the room, we’re still all students and we’re all peers.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.