Students wanting to study in Israel may soon get their wish for the first time since 2002.
In April of 2002, the University of California suspended its study abroad programs in Israel due to a travel warning issued by the U.S. State Department. Though the warning is still in place, UCSD Opportunities Abroad Program Coordinator Bill Clabby said that he is drafting a waiver that would allow students to travel to Israel.
“We will probably have a parent and a student waiver,” Clabby said. “Hopefully, it will be ready in spring quarter. This will most likely allow students to start going in the fall.”
Though OAP is planning to allow students to travel to Israel, there are no plans for the University of California to reinstate the systemwide Education Abroad Program for the region, according to Bruce Hanna, director of EAP strategic marketing and communications.
“Within EAP, there is a very clear test for the program,” Hanna said. “If there is a Department of State travel warning, there is no program. If the warning is removed, we will resume the program within a reasonable and appropriate time frame.”
EAP allows students to study at foreign universities and earn UC credits, while OAP requires the student to directly enroll in a foreign university and transfer the credits to UCSD after completion.
Clabby said that while the OAP program was originally canceled due to security fears, the interests of the students and the university balanced out the risks.
“Safety is important to us,” Clabby said. “EAP was in daily consultation with the U.S. Embassy [in Tel Aviv] before the suspension of the program and OAP didn’t want to be a back door into an unsafe situation. But students want to study in Israel, and we should bring them into the fold while protecting them and the university.”
Some students believe that the universitywide EAP in Israel should be reinstated. Earlier this month, the A.S. Council passed a resolution supporting the reinstatement after students from the San Diego Israel Alliance appealed to members with concerns, according to John Muir College Junior Senator Neil Spears.
“[Alliance President] Diane Meskin spoke to me about the need for Israel study abroad,” said Spears, who drafted the resolution. “It is really a triumph of students coming to Associated Students with a problem, and the Associated Students is helping to solve it.”
The resolution called on the University of California to reinstate the program no later than fall 2005. Among the reasons cited was the “decrease in violence and motions toward peace and safety by both Israelis and Palestinians.”
Acts of terrorism have decreased drastically throughout 2004, according to Justin Levi, director of academic affairs at the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles.
“It has always been safe for students to go to Israel,” Levi said. “In general, terrorism is way down. … The situation is completely safe.”
Some students have gone to Israel both to visit and to study despite the travel warnings and the lack of assistance from OAP.
Eleanor Roosevelt College senior Shira Stanton said she had to withdraw from UCSD and enroll directly in Tel Aviv University, where she studied two years ago.
In addition, Roosevelt junior Michelle Kerner said that she, too, will spend her senior year in Israel even though she has received no university assistance from the university.
“Planning has been just short of a nightmare,” Kerner said. “I was turned away from the Programs Abroad Office, but I’m still planning on going.”
Jewish students also have the opportunity to visit Israel through an independent Hillel’s Birthright mission, according to Spears, who took part in the program in December 2003.
“There are resources there for students … and the university is really just denying access,” Spears said. “The time is now right for the university to rethink its position and help students.”
Meskin and Wayne Klitofsky, SDIA representative to the Union of Jewish Students, recently wrote a letter to the San Diego Jewish Journal, stating that the Israeli travel program should be reinstated.
“In the past three years, more than 95 students from UCSD alone have been to Israel on Hillel’s Birthright mission,” the letter stated. “Not only have their experiences been incredibly positive, but there has not been a single incident while in Israel.”