Students travel to Israel amid ongoing war

Hillsdale students in Israel for a Passages trip. Courtesy | Turner Callaghan

Amid the Israel-Hamas War, six students traveled overseas with the tour guide company Passages to visit biblical sites and volunteer in the Jewish communities.

“They tried to be very intentional about the safety of going to Israel,” said Jeffery “Chief” Rogers, associate dean of men and former Navy chief. “They’re in constant contact with the people on the ground.”

Originally scheduled as a winter break trip in 2023, Passages postponed its trip twice due to safety concerns after the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel. Passages is an organization that takes students from colleges across the country on biblically-focused tours of Israel.

Hillsdale students have participated in the Passages trip to Israel since 2015, and it has only been fully canceled once due to COVID vaccination requirements in 2021.

During this trip, Passages canceled an excursion to the Sea of Galilee because Hezbollah, an Iran-backed military group, had recently fired rockets in that area.

“Because of the war, security is higher than it has been in a long time,” junior Turner Callaghan said, “I was going with Chief and a few other military and ex-military people, so I wasn’t anxious.”

The group met and spoke with many active Israeli Defense Force soldiers who were posted around the country, Callaghan said. They saw many soldiers, especially on Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest that is practiced from sundown every Friday to sundown that Saturday. Because it is traditionally a sabbath for Jews, terrorist attacks are more common.

Both the soldiers and citizens expressed gratitude for America’s continued support through the war, Rogers said.

“They really love Americans there, not only because they’re very much like us, but also to bring awareness,” senior Isaac Ogaz said. “Every time I’ve been over there I’ve been told that they’re grateful.”

Ogaz, a former member of the military, had previously worked with the IDF in a military capacity, but he said it was a very different experience to go to Israel as a faith pilgrimage with other Christians.

“Since I started Hillsdale, I’ve been trying to start to get closer to my faith, so I figured why not take advantage of that opportunity,” Ogaz said. “This time I went to Israel specifically to see the roots of Christianity.”

The group traveled to many biblically significant locations such as Ein Gedi, the “Old City” of Jerusalem, Nazareth, and the Dead Sea. They also visited many important places in modern day Israel such as Tel Aviv and Jaffa.

For Ogaz, visiting Ein Gedi was the most meaningful portion of the Israel trip because of its historical connection to 1 Samuel 28, the story of David submitting to King Saul’s authority in obedience to God.

“Going to Ein Gedi and hearing what Chief said about what happened to David and Saul, that helped me to see the fact that David submits to the Lord’s anointed because Saul is the Lord’s anointed,” Ogaz said.

With Passages, students heard speeches from chaplains about the history of each site, and Rogers gave an additional speech to the Hillsdale contingent on each place’s spiritual significance.

Modern Israel preserves its rich history in the “Old City” of Jerusalem, Callaghan said.

“There was a lot of new stuff, but the Old City is also fairly intact, especially considering the Ottoman occupation,” Callaghan said.

Callaghan recounted visiting one of many shops that sold gifts inscribed with Jewish blessings. He said the shopkeeper who sold him a necklace was accustomed to Christian travelers, and the shopkeeper readily explained the meanings behind the inscriptions.

Tel Aviv contrasted sharply with the historical city of Jerusalem, Ogaz said.

“If you were to go to Tel Aviv, it is more like Miami Beach than the Old City,” he said. “It looked more like America than what you would expect of Israel.”

The Passages group also volunteered with children and mentally disabled adults in the Jewish community by helping repaint buildings and doing activities with them.

Both Callaghan and Ogaz said they experienced minimal culture shock in Israel.

“It was more of a weather shock instead of culture shock for me,” Callaghan said. “But they have taken a lot of Western, mainly British, traditions because of the time the British took to help them rebuild their government. They are westernized in their own way.”

During the trip, the Passages group learned religious traditions from Hasids, a sect of Orthodox Jews, such as praying with a phylactery — scrolls of Jewish religious texts that are worn on the body. Despite this, Rogers said Israel is primarily a secular nation and its Jewish heritage is more ethnic than religious.

Jewish traditions and the modern Israeli conflict seemed to be a focus of the Passages trip, Ogaz said. Passages brought in multiple speakers of different backgrounds on this topic.

“I think it’s in keeping with Hillsdale’s motto to hear the truth,” Rogers said. “it’s good to hear it from the Palestinian side as well as the Israeli and Orthodox Jew viewpoint.”

According to Callaghan, some of the speakers included Israeli-Arab activists, religious scholars, journalists, and a former IDF soldier who had fought against Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack.

The group visited the memorial for the 1,139 people who were massacred on Oct. 7 and walked around the area. They also saw the aftermath of the assault on a kibbutz, a Jewish commune, where buildings were ridden with bullet holes and at least one street was completely demolished, according to Callaghan.

“Jesus said he was the Prince of Peace, and to see the destruction and death there in Israel where the Lord will come back, it was kind of depressing to see,” Rogers said.

Out of the three trips Rogers has taken to Israel, Rogers said this last one was the most impactful because he was able to show American support to Israel during its time of need.

“Israel is the epicenter of the Christian faith,” Rogers said. “Every time you go, you are able to see the Bible in 4K. I wanted to let Israel know that the Bible said to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”