Perspectives
Perspectives is a 10-day educational journey to learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We expect to offer the next trip in early August 2024.
This experience is offered exclusively to Brandeis undergraduate student leaders (regardless of race, religious background, ethnicity) who want to deepen their knowledge of Israel, the Middle East, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The trip is highly selective. Space is limited.
You will meet intellectuals, activists, journalists, diplomats, scholars, and others involved in this multifaceted conversation. You’ll visit cities and holy sites to all three major religions. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn about the history of one of the world's most debated conflicts by interacting with experts and decision-makers.
The trip is heavily subsidized: flights, hotels, travel in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and most meals are covered. If accepted, you will need to make a $200 non-refundable deposit to confirm your spot.
Students apply for the trip. Finalists are interviewed.
There will be two mandatory orientation sessions before the trip.
Please note that this trip is only open to current undergraduate students who will be on campus for the entire 2024-2025 academic year.
What students say
“I can say without a doubt that the trip exceeded my expectations. The multifaceted components were valuable and enabled me to have a clearer understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which is now less skewed by the media and the conversations that I've previously had with my peers. I hope with the knowledge I've gained I can be an agent for change on the Brandeis campus and influence peace when tensions arise.”
“Loved this trip! The highlight of this trip was seeing and hearing different narratives that can help us as a group share these narratives at Brandeis to help others understand the conflict.”
“I really enjoyed the Brandeis Perspectives Trip. I learned so much about the conflict, met many new people from Brandeis and heard their perspectives, and experiences of Israel life. I truly love the diverse group of people on this trip as it made learning about the conflict eye-opening. There were many opinions and every new opinion brought a different light to my own opinions.”
“This was an amazing and life-changing opportunity to learn not just about Israel and Palestine but about conflict, peace, war, and my role in contributing towards all of those things as a young American leader. This trip has motivated me to return to the Brandeis campus and make genuine change in the dialogue about Israel and Palestine - encouraging religious and ethnic coexistence instead of debating the right and wrong, as advised by Rabbi Melchior, one of my biggest inspirations from the trip.”
“One highlight was swimming in Tel Aviv and being able to talk to everyone we could.”