Student gains insight through recent Israel trip

Ashton Rosin’s recent trip to Israel left her with a mature perspective on the long-standing Arab-Israeli conflict.

On July 24, Rosin returned from a three-week trip to Israel sponsored by the Jacobs International Teen Leadership Institute (JITLI). As one of a group of 10 American Jews from San Diego, Rosin, a 17-year-old Canyon Crest senior, along with 10 Israeli Jews and 20 Israeli Arabs, traveled throughout the country, touring holy sites such as the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock.

The group, made up of all high school juniors, also engaged frequently in seminars, presentations, games, and what Rosin called “intense discussions,” with a goal of promoting coexistence and dialogue between Israeli Arabs and Jews.

Rosin, a Carmel Valley resident who attended San Diego Jewish Academy through her freshman year of high school, said discussions got “heated,” with the American Jews from San Diego often acting as “mediators” between the other two groups.

The second week of the trip was spent in Jerusalem, followed by a week in which each American Jew, along with an Israeli Jew, spent time in two different Arab villages in the southern part of the country.

“That was incredible,” said Rosin, who said many of the Arab husbands had four or five wives and up to 15 children. “It was a huge culture shock.”

While the Arab Bedouin villages were primitive, often without electricity or running water-she noted a herd of sheep passing through the village after one night’s dinner-Rosin said the week immersed in Arab life gave her an invaluable perspective on the multi-faceted, dangerous conflict.

Whereas many get their information solely from news reports, Rosin said living with and listening to Arab families allowed her to humanize the situation.

“Now I have a face and a name for the other side of the story,” she said. “It’s not just Arabs sending rockets into Israel. We got to know why they’re doing it and where their beliefs come from.”

With a clear perspective gained from nearly a month on the frontlines of the issue, Rosin is continuing her involvement with JITLI. Chosen to be a counselor for next year’s trip, Rosin, along with Poway High School student Ian Lipson, will head back to Israel in April to organize the 2010 trip

She’s also currently applying to colleges-on her list are UC Berkeley, UCSB, UCLA, UC Davis, University of Michigan, University of Washington and Vanderbilt University. She said because of the Israel trip, she plans on studying international relations.

What she took away from her recent experiences has already given her a healthy, mature viewpoint on fostering diplomatic relations between historically contentious parties.

“It’s not about changing opinions,” Rosin said, “it’s about seeing the other side.”

For more information on the Jacobs International Teen Leadership Institute, visit www.jitli.org.

Matt Liebowitz writes for Carmel Valley News where this story originally appeared.

Tags: american jews, canyon crest high school san diego, dome of the rock, Israel, jacobs international teen leadership institute, Palestine, Poway High School, san diego jewish academy, SDNN, uc berkeley, uc davis, ucla, UCSB, university of michigan, university of washington, vanderbilt university, western wall

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