For three months I studied at the Masa Israel-accredited Hebrew University in Jerusalem, doing a semester exchange during my third year of law school at the University of Windsor. From the time I first learned about the opportunity to spend a semester abroad, I knew I would choose Israel. There, I would be able to explore the field of international law, understand how Israelis my age approach their academics post-army service, and immerse myself in Israeli society. I also knew that I would benefit from a taste of the traditional and infamous Israeli chutzpah.

The campus of Hebrew University is like no other. Situated on Mount Scopus, one of the highest points in Jerusalem, the entire city, both old and new, is in full view.

The campus synagogue overlooks the Old City with the Dome of the Rock as its centrepiece, surrounded by the modern parts of the city, with Arab and Jewish neighbourhoods painting the horizon. Standing in the almost-century-old campus amphitheatre on a clear day, you can see across the eastern part of the country: an Arab village is followed by a Jewish settlement, then the Judean Desert, the Dead Sea, and finally Jordan’s red mountains.

When I was not admiring the view, my classroom education was not simply confined to textbooks either. Studying international law in Jerusalem did not include the typical classroom experience.

I learned about the legal status of Jerusalem while sitting in a room on Mount Scopus, which is technically an island within the West Bank. My professors, immigrants from Britain, France, Uruguay and Argentina, spoke about border issues with the security barrier and Green Line right outside the window. We learned about rocket attacks and self-defence with the directions to the nearest bomb shelter posted at the front of the class. Situated in the midst of the Arab-Israeli conflict, while studying law and its practical applications, provided unrivalled learning opportunities.

I did face challenges during my semester in Israel. Israel is notorious for its bureaucracy; It took nine different kinds of photo ID to get my bus pass, seven attempts at registration to get my final class schedule, five sets of directions to find the law building, and three attempts at pushing my way into the bus (elbows up) without knocking over the elderly rabbi and his wife – who were also trying to get home for Shabbat. Yet, at the end of the day – with my newfound sense of chutzpah intact – I felt a deep connection to my surroundings, and appreciation that Israel is the one place that any Jew can call home.

Now, back in Canada where I am articling at a law firm in Toronto, far from the history and falafel stands of Jerusalem, I continue to apply the academic and professional lessons I gained in Israel – and the life lessons learned there too. I know my new “elbows-up” aggressive manoeuvres may serve me well in court – but I apologize, in advance, if you’re standing next to me in line for the bus.

Masa Israel Journey, which runs over 200 academic, internship and volunteer programs in Israel, is a project of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Government of Israel.

Written by Adam Hummel. Posted in the Jewish Tribune

The Hebrew University’s Institute for Medical Research Israel Canada (IMRIC)

• IMRIC researchers win Canada Gairdner International Medical Science Award
• Hebrew U students and faculty ran in the Jerusalem Night Run, a prelude to the Jerusalem Marathon, in support of IMRIC
• A virtual cane for sight-impaired people was developed by IMRIC
• Albert Einstein came back to life for the first ever Virtual Marathon for Medical Research 

CFHU and the Hebrew University

• CFHU honoured Canadian film producer Jake Eberts in Montreal with the first Key of Knowledge Award
• The winning team of Hebrew U students will represent Israel in an international law competition 
• Canadian toy makers go to Israel to share their secrets with aspiring inventors at the Hebrew University Science Youth Program 
• Hebrew University climbs to 57th place on global ranking list 

We are so proud of these amazing achievements and we look forward to seeing what awaits us in 2012. Happy New Year everyone!

Think again. On December 11, the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University (CFHU) will make the impossible happen when HU “spokes-avatar” Albert Einstein hosts Canadian Friends’ inaugural Virtual Marathon for Medical Research (VMMR) in support of the Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC) at the Hebrew University. The famed physicist will be virtually reanimated to provide play-by-play commentary on one of the most most exciting races never run.

The VMMR is a state-of-the-art fundraising initiative that uses avatars as competitors in a virtual marathon race. Those avatars will be cheered on by people like you, their real-world fans and supporters. With your $25 online registration, you will be invited to choose an avatar runner. By selecting your favourite avatar, you are enhancing the possibility that your avatar will win. All participants who select the winning avatar will be entered into a benefit draw for a chance to become the “Ambassador for the Cause”. The will have the opportunity to learn about the cause and promote awareness as a spokesperson. In addition, they will be able to become an avatar for a cause of their choice in next year’s marathon.

Support a medical cause close to your heart and register today! Early bird registration is $20 until November 15th and $25 after.  For more information please visit www.imric-virtualmarathon.com.

Professor Shalev’s lecture dates are:

October 25, 2011 in Winnipeg

October 26, 2011 in Montreal

October 27, 2011 in Ottawa

These events are open to the public and will serve light refreshments. For more details please visit the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University’s website at www.cfhu.org.

Currently studying at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem on her junior year abroad, Toronto native Jordana Skurka is used to learning in far-flung places. Her home college is Dalhousie University, located in the port city of Halifax on the small Canadian island province of Nova Scotia. So what’s a nice Jewish girl doing there? For trailblazing Jordana, the choice was another “step towards independence.”

Just the FAQS
Name: Jordana Skurka, 19
Place of birth: Toronto, Canada
University: Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Current living situation: Dorm in Jerusalem with four other students

What’s the best food you’ve eaten in Israel yet?
A pita and hummus at the shuk, which is in Mahane Yehuda in Jerusalem.

What food do you miss from home?
Sushi at home is much better than it is in Israel

If you had to write a one-sentence advertisement for your school, what would it be?
It is a diverse community located on the ocean on the east coast of Canada with a liberal student body.

Who should have a movie made about him/her, living or dead?
Barack Obama

What course has most influenced you at university so far?
A gender course dealing with the roles of women and men as parental figures in different cultures. We learned that the maternal instinct is not necessarily biological, but can be conditioned by culture. In some societies, the men take on the maternal role and act as a “western” mother might act.

What makes your blood flow? What makes it boil?
Flow: Engaging in something that is very interesting or participating in something that is directly impacting others.
Boil: An injustice/unfairness/wrong which I feel powerless to change… The state of the world can be overwhelming; what can only one person do to affect it?

What is your earliest memory relating to Judaism? What is your relationship to it today?
Camp Ramah in Canada. My strongest associations come from there because it was fun and I was there as a child. I met a form of Judaism I hadn’t received at home… a spiritual Judaism rather than rules and regulations.
Today I identify as Jewish and feel connected to Israel, and I’m especially secure with my Judaism here in Israel. But I’m unsure religiously where I stand and am in the process of discovering that. I hope to find clarity here in Israel.

What to you think will be the prevailing concern in Israel in five years? Ten? Twenty?
Tensions between Palestinians and Jews are so deeply entrenched they cannot be overcome in the near future. I hope for incremental changes, but do not see huge changes. Perhaps more on the individual level, but generally there will be separation between Jews and Palestinians living in Israel. I would like the situation to change, but don’t know if that’s realistic.

What is the most pivotal decision you’ve made in your life so far?
Coming to Israel because my school is very secular, my friends are non-Jewish. I am exploring a different part of myself here in Israel, focusing in on the part of myself that is connected to Judaism.

What do you expect to take away from your time here?
I hope to be enriched as a person, with knowledge, new connections and a greater sense of self and independence.

UCLA student Rachel Menitoff took part in a JewliciousU Journalism 101 Workshop at the Rothberg School of Overseas Studies at the Hebrew University where she is doing her junior year abroad. Read more about Rothberg here.

“While at Rothberg as a graduate student in Spring of 2010 me and my roommate were invited to participate in an undergraduate, 4-day hike through the Galilee over the Passover break. The trip was dubbed Yam-le-Yam (Sea to Sea). We began our journey in the westernmost part, the Mediterranean Sea and headed eastward. During the 4-day trip, we visited mount Miron and the mystic city of Tzfat before arriving at our final destination, Lake Kinneret on the 4th day. This picture was taken in the Upper Galilee, near the Lebanon border. We were hiking all morning and reached a beautiful field, which overlooked the mashavs near Lebanon. We decided to rest there for a few hours before continuing our hike. In the picture are two undergraduate students from Rothberg, Christina (on the right) and Kelly (on the left) enjoying the view.”

Many thanks to all who submitted photos to this year’s contest! Please click here for a photo gallery of all of the runners-up.

Supported in part by Dr. Ralph Halbert, the group met with members of the Municipal Parliament, real estate developers and local Jewish community leaders. They also visited Toronto landmarks including the CN Tower, the Toronto Islands and attended a Blue Jay’s game. The group of 20 brought along a number of professors to aide in their educational experience overseas. “What our cadets learned from Toronto based developers and from local politicians will help prepare them to meet our country’s pressing domestic issues,” said program director Sarit Milman, who is hopeful that the program will continue to visit Canada in the coming years. For more information, please visit www.atidim.org.

Written by Rosa Stall

A number of young people from around the world, including Canada, spent time in Israel on Masa Israel programs. This is the third in a series of stories as told by some of the Canadian participants.

“Why would you ever choose Jerusalem over Tel Aviv?” a representative asked me at McGill’s meeting for students studying abroad at Israeli universities. At the time, I had no response. I had never even considered Tel Aviv University.

The representative proceeded to tell me how much more fun Tel Aviv was than Jerusalem, and how it was a “city that never sleeps, a city where the party never ends.” But, after being here in Israel for five months, I know that when I am in Tel Aviv I can forget I am in Israel; but when I am in Jerusalem, I never forget where I am.

My experiences studying at Masa Israel’s program at Hebrew University and living in Jerusalem have both confused and solidified my Jewish identity.

The first time I came to Israel with my family in 2004, I landed in Ben Gurion Airport, expecting to feel something, but I did not. Israel is a beautiful country, but to my 13-year-old self it was no more special to me than any other place I had visited.

This past January I arrived in Jerusalem, a city where I have spent very little time in the past. For the first few weeks, I felt complete culture shock. Being a Jew from Toronto I could not help but feel out of place in the sea of Orthodoxy that can encapsulate Jerusalem.  Yet as the weeks passed, I started to really enjoy living in Jerusalem. As a Canadian who loves waiting in lines and appreciates order, I soon became accustomed to the bustling shuk and the benefits of chaos. Yet, even though I experienced a greater appreciation for the country, I still did not feel more connected to my Jewish identity.

All that changed for me on March 23, 2011 at 3 p.m. when I received frantic phone calls from friends asking if I was okay; a bomb had exploded near the central bus station. Two days later I was supposed to run the 10km race for Jerusalem’s first marathon and I had heard rumours that it would be cancelled.

Nir Barkat, the mayor of Jerusalem, stated in response to the rumours that “when terror attempts to disrupt our way of life, the best solution is to get back to normal as quickly as possible. Events in Jerusalem will not be cancelled and Jerusalem will not stop running.”

As planned, my friends and I headed to Gan Sacher, the starting area of the race, on March 25. As I ran down the streets of Jerusalem, next to the Knesset, up Ben Yehuda, through the Old City, and across the finish line, I felt a sense of pride. I felt proud of the country and proud to be Jewish for the first time since I have been in Israel. This must be the feeling, I thought, that people speak about when they speak of their connection to Israel. Lining the streets of the race were people of all denominations and from all places.
Only two days after the bombing, everyone came to cheer the runners on to show their pride and support for Jerusalem. It did not matter if I was secular, religious or something else. The people  of Jerusalem cheered and supported me.   

I may not have this feeling everyday when I wake up in Jerusalem and I may not feel it for long, but if I can remember my recent experience then I will remember what it means to be Jewish in Israel. As I start counting down the days to my return home to Toronto I catch myself thinking about how my relationship with Israel has changed and what my connection will be upon my return home. I may not always agree with Israel’s policies and I may not always enjoy being cut in line, but I suspect that Israel will always be an important piece of my Jewish identity.

A highlight of the Bog was the prestigious Canadian Awards Evening where Israeli researchers and students received scholarships and awards personally presented by generous CFHU supporters. Special guest performer, Canadian Jazz Singer Sophie Milman, returned to Israel to visit the Hebrew University and promote IMRIC. Ms. Milman performed at the Hebrew University’s Convocation, the Zappa Jazz Club in Hertzliya and serenaded guests at the CFHU awards evening with her beautiful voice. Read more about Milman’s homecoming.

Canadian philanthropist, President and Trustee of The Asper Foundation and member of the Hebrew University’s Board of Governors Gail Asper announced an exciting new entrepreneurial program developed through the Asper Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE). Ms. Asper hopes that this program will empower Arab women in East Jerusalem to join the workforce and contribute to a “peaceful society” in Israel. Read More.  

CFHU supporter, Montrealer and CEO of HydroElectron ventures, Matthew Price Gallagher, became interested in the scientific advancements being done in water research at the Hebrew University and pursued an agreement with Yissum, the university’s technology transfer arm. Price Gallagher is just one of many peopel around the world taking notice of the many innovations being developed at the Hebrew University. To learn more please read the second half of this CJN article.

Also mentioned in this article “HU Turns Scientific Theory into Practice”, is a new invention – a virtual cane developed by IMRIC researcher Amir Amedi that was presented by Yissum at the opening of the Presidential Conference. Dr. Amedi’s new device can assist blind people in estimating the distance and height of various obstacles, the device was registered as a patent by Yissum, which is now seeking strategic partners for further development. Dr. Amedi personally demonstrated the virutal cane to Israel’s President Shimon Peres at the conference. Click here to watch a video demonstration of the virtual cane. Read more on the virtual cane. Click here to meet Dr. Daniel-Robert Chebat, a Canadian student who made aliyah specifically to work with Dr. Amir Amedi.

Other BoG highlights include President Peres opening the Hebrew University exhibit at the President’s Conference and three senior Hebrew University faculty members receiving the Kaye Awards for research resulting in worldwide commercial success.

Dance Jerusalem is a unique program initiated jointly by Rothberg and the Jeruslaem Academy of Music and Dance (JAMD). This program combines artistic training in dance skills and technique with academic exposure to Israel’s challenging social, historical and cultural environment. Dance Jerusalem offers university-level artistic and technical training in the disciplines of Classical Ballet, Contemporary Dance Choreography, Repertoire and Improvisation.

Like Dance Jerusalem, Jerusalem Sounds is offered in conjunction with the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Studies include a full music program consisting of individual instruction, performance in small and large ensembles and classes in Jewish and Israeli music. Additionally, students get to choose from the wide range of courses at the Rothberg International School.

Art Jerusalem, which begins this coming fall, is a partnership between Rothberg and the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. This program combines artisitic training with courses at Rothberg. Studies include a wide variety of art courses in such areas as painting, sculpture, drawing and screen printing as well as choosing from a broad selection of university courses in Israel and Middle Eastern studies, religion, behavioral sciences, environment studies and hebrew language.

If you’re a dancer, musician or artist and want to spend a semester or a year studying in Israel please don’t hesitate to contact the Canadian Friends at the Hebrew University at 416-485-8000 or admissions@cfhu.org  or check out our website for more information.