BYU Jerusalem Center Blog

Kristen Moulton of the Salt Lake Tribune reported that the Jerusalem Center program, with only minor changes, is progressing well during the Gaza War. 

“BYU did not consider shuttering the center to students or sending them home, as it did in 2000, for several reasons, Kearl said. The center hosted no BYU students for six years because of civil unrest.

The Jerusalem Center is about 80 miles from Gaza, at its nearest point, and students do not take field trips to areas where Hamas’ rockets can reach, he said.

Moreover, it appeared clear the fighting would not spread outside Gaza.

“None of the program activities are at risk, nor is the center at risk,” Kearl said. ”

Read the full article here.

Living in Jerusalem while learning its history and studying about its conflicted past is an unsurpassed experience in my life.  Living in Jerusalem while a bloody conflict played out around me was surreal and in a way put me smack in the middle of history.  The students in Jerusalem now may be having some of those same feelings.  I would be interested to talk to them and see how living in Israel in the midst of a war has affected their experience.