Two Arava Institute alumni recently completed a nationwide U.S. university tour to highlight the work being done at the Arava Institute. Zohar Weiss and Muhanad Alkharaz, alumni from 2016 and 2012 respectively, shared their personal stories and the journey that took them from childhoods in Israel and Palestine to studying collaboratively at the Arava Institute.
Over the course of three weeks, Zohar and Muhanad traveled to 21 university campuses throughout the United States. From Boston to Denver, and from San Francisco to Chicago, the alumni shared a message of mutual respect and environmental cooperation with U.S. students, staff, faculty, and community members. In total, more than 600 students attended Arava alumni tour events.
One such event was hosted by Manzil Midrash at the University of Oregon, a joint initiative of the Oregon Hillel, Arab Student Union, and Muslim Student Association. Manzil Midrash serves to connect interfaith understanding and cross-cultural encounters, and approximately 40 University of Oregon students joined in the conversation, which also included an introduction by the university president. A video of the event is available here.
This was the first of two Arava alumni tours in 2017. The second tour will take place in or around October 2017. If your campus or community is interested in hosting an Arava alumni tour event, please contact Ari Massefski.
