Junior Naomi Brown was planning to spend her spring semester at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She had already been to Israel three times and felt safe there, but she began to rethink her decision when fighting in the area escalated at the beginning of October.
Brown made her decision after viewing CNN coverage of a marketplace bombing. She was shocked - she had been to that marketplace in the past, and the report was the last straw. She decided to withdraw from the program, but not without some regret.
"I've always wanted to live there rather than being a tourist," Brown said.
Some students still plan to study abroad in Israel next semester, though, and others are there now. They all face a difficult decision, and need to balance media reports of increasing violence with Israeli claims that the current situation is not out of the ordinary.
Junior Howard Wolke is currently spending his fall semester in Jerusalem at the Rothberg School for Overseas Students at Hebrew University. Wolke, like Brown, chose to study in Israel because he feels a strong connection to the country. Also, as a double major in comparative religion and history, he felt that Jerusalem would be the ideal study abroad destination due to its strong religious and historical background.
"This is my fourth time being here, and each time I feel that I get closer to my heritage," Wolke said.
Wolke claimed that he has felt safe during his previous trips to Israel, and he sees no reason not to feel safe during this one. "Basically, the main way I look at it - and all Israelis that I've talked to agree with me on this - I have a better chance of being hit by a bus than being blown up on one," Wolke said. "The only point when I would have even considered leaving would have been if [Tufts] had told me that I should. They still haven't, nor do I expect them to."
While Wolke knows many people who have left in the middle of the semester to return home, he does not plan on leaving Israel until the semester is complete.
"If I had to decide again, or if I was going next semester, then I would definitely still go," he said. "However, there are people who felt [that], when the whole situation began, they needed to return to the States. I definitely respect them for this decision. It is definitely a personal decision."
The current situation not only influences those who plan to study abroad in the Middle East. It also affects Birthright Israel, a national program locally sponsored through Hillel, which allows students from schools around the country travel, expenses paid, to Israel over winter break.
This year, 16 of the 40 Tufts students who planned to go on the Birthright Israel program withdrew. According to Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, Hillel has not yet decided whether students on the waiting list for the trip should be considered to fill the vacated spots.
The program's itinerary will be different from past years. Students will only visit "secure" parts of Israel, not the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. Certain areas remain unaffected - even in Jerusalem.
"I am not letting the current situation really change my life here," Wolke said. "I am still traveling where I want to travel, and still doing whatever it is I want to do. The current situation is nowhere near as bad as the foreign media make it out to be."
Wolke's study abroad program holds a weekly "situation update" about the recent violence and has decided to cancel some field trips. Other than that, they have not done much to respond to the current situation.
"Basically, the way I look at it is that this is my homeland. I feel very comfortable here, and very safe to be in this country," Wolke said.
As for the Birthright trip, Summit said National Hillel and Birthright Israel have been in touch with senior security officials in Israel. "They really believe they can run a safe and secure trip," Summit said. "Of course, life comes with no guarantees."
Brown received a letter last month from her study abroad program, informing her that, despite the current situation in Israel, the program would continue as planned.
The Rothberg School currently enrolls almost 1,000 students, and, according to the letter, 96 percent plan to stay. The letter also stated that students or parents with concerns should contact school officials - but by this time, Brown had already decided not to go to Israel.
Brown supports her friends who will still be going to Israel next semester, however. "I think it's their decision and I'm sure they'll be safe there," Brown said. Wolke agreed that now might not be the best time for some students to go to Israel, simply because their fear might hinder their experience.
According to Summit, Israel has maintained a general calm for several years, and the current condition mirrors the situation that has existed in past decades. He said that students who travel to Israel might get a better idea of the way of life in the past. Last year, students on the Birthright Israel trip held talks with both Israelis and Palestinians, and Summit hopes that will occur this year.
Of course, Brown could study abroad in a different location next semester. She feels, however, that the purpose of going abroad is for students to live in countries that they feel connections to - and she does not feel that connection to anywhere but Israel.
"There's no other country where I really felt like I was being pulled to live... for six months," Brown said.
