• Winter with field component during Spring/Summer
• Sophomores and above
• GPA 2.0
• Dormitory, Hostel
• Instruction in English
• No language prerequisite

Engage in deep exploration of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the two main urban centers of Israel, on this 3-week GCC program.

Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are perceived as polar opposites in Israel’s cultural landscape. Jerusalem is an ancient world center in the Judean mountains with a rich and sacred past. As one of the oldest cities in the world, it has witnessed its share of glory and conflict. Jerusalem is a sacred city for all three Abrahamic faiths and serves as Israel’s political capital. Tel Aviv—the “first Hebrew city”—seems to have emerged from the sand dunes of the Mediterranean a century ago. A cosmopolitan hub for tech and trade, home to corporate offices and development centers, Tel Aviv is Israel’s financial capital and a major arts and entertainment center. It has the second-largest economy in the Middle East, and its modern Bauhaus-inspired “White City” is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Through the years, both cities have gone through massive changes—geographical and social—and their images have developed in complex ways.

During your time in Israel, you will explore key sites in the history of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and meet with writers, filmmakers, and other artists living and working in these cities. Discover the ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity of the local populations, which include Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Jews (Jews from Arab countries), religious and secular Jews and Arabs (both Muslim and Christian), and migrant workers. Examine prose and poetry, film and other visual arts that portray Tel Aviv and Jerusalem from the first half of the twentieth century to the present.

Earn 5 total credits during winter term—3 for JUDAIC 255 and 2 for the off-campus component. The program is led and taught by Shachar Pinsker of Near Eastern Studies and the Center for Judaic Studies.