Tel Aviv, Israel — After 43 Hillsdale College students touched ground safely in the Holy Land Sunday afternoon, they said they were looking toward the future days when they would walk in the same steps Jesus had.
For a second year, Passages, a program of the Philos Project and the Museum of the Bible Foundation, flew Hillsdale students to the Jewish state to spend 10 days visiting religious sites and learning about the history of Israel and the controversies surrounding its role in the present geopolitical sphere.
“Israel has an interesting history, continuing from 1948, when it became a state,” junior Hans Noyes said. “I’m excited to see Jerusalem. So many biblical figures have passed through there.”
Students flew into the Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport New Year’s Day and met up with around 200 other college students from the United States for the trip over part of Hillsdale’s winter break.
Before taking the nearly 11-hour journey from Newark, New Jersey, students expressed some nervousness over the security measures required to fly to Israel. Each passenger was interviewed about their trip plans, preparations, and connections to the Middle East prior to boarding.
“I was preparing for an interrogation,” senior Kyra Rodi said. “But it wasn’t as bad as I expected.”
Although many students agreed with Rodi, some said their responses did gain some extra attention. Sarah Onken ’16, a student of the Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship, said her German surname led to questions concerning her relatives and their ability to speak German despite having immigrated to America in the 1840s.
“I was like, ‘Oh gosh, why?’” Onken said. “We came a long time ago. But I don’t think it was directly trying to imply anything.”
After passing through the unique security measures and landing in Israel, students spoke eagerly of the sites they would see — the Sea of Galilee, Nazareth, the Western Wall, and more.
Senior Rachael Reynolds said she was most looking forward to Yardenit on the Jordan River, where students will be offered the opportunity to be baptized, if they wish.
“I came to college an atheist, and I feel like this is the capstone of my christianization,” Reynolds said.
Others also said they were eager to meet Israelis and learn more about the political controversies surrounding the nation, especially after Dec. 23, when the United Nations’ Security Council passed a resolution calling for Israel to stop settlement constructions.
“I want to hear more about the Israeli reaction to the U.N. resolution,” Onken said. “On the news we see both sides but not Israel’s. You just get the American response.”
And by the end of the trip, students said they hope to take back with them context or scriptural passages and connection to what they have studied in their classes.
Junior Chandler Ryd recalled how Robert Nicholson, executive director of the Philos Project, spoke about how the Hebraic tradition was more of a basis to Western civilization than even the ancient Greeks and Romans at Hillsdale during the religion department’s Gershom Lecture Series on Zionism in September.
“I was intrigued by that,” Ryd said. “As a student and an artist, I want to have a foundation in the tradition of something beyond me. Coming to a physical place helps to understand the more abstract ideas of tradition and the way this place has impacted everything we do at Hillsdale.”
