SchwartzBlog

Wow, what a trip it has been.

In my last few days I have been in Jerusalem. I saw the Western Wall, the Dead Sea, and Masada.

The last few days in Israel have really given me an opportunity to think about some of my core values.

I believe that one rarely has the full story. There are so many things that can happen in this world and there are so many things that can happen that you will never know about. So with a major issue, if you jump to conclusions, you are probably wrong, because there is going to be information that you simply don’t have.

Now I am not saying never trust anyone. I am saying that you should be careful when you “say” you are 100% sure of something.

Especially when it has to deal with something you have no control over, say, an international conflict.

That is where this trip comes into play. Obviously the Israeli conflict with the “Palestinians” is one that has a lot of opinions circulating.

And speaking from experience, those opinions can really get a grip on you. So to summarize that point, here is what I can say:

This conflict is not one person constantly beating on the other. It is a conflict. And like any other, there are two sides. So be careful before you make conclusions about what you might not know.

So some conclusions on this trip. Well, it was amazing. But obviously there is a little more to it than that. This trip was an eye opener. From the views on the top of Mt. Arbel to the views on the Israeli conflicts, I have changed the way I look at things.

Another change was the way I looked at my brother. Dan separated his shoulder a few weeks ago and his arm is in a sling.

But that didn’t stop him from:

1. Parasailing

2. Repelling down a crater

3. Climbing a mountain (free climbing Mt. Arbel)

4. Shooting an Uzi Sub Machine Gun and an AK-47

5. Climbing in Archeological Tunnels (A difficult task for everybody, its hard to explain but just keep in mind that from a physical stand point, it was even challenging for me and I have both arms)

6. Climbing another mountain (Masada)

So that is one part. But the other is much more significant. Over the past year and more so over this past week, Dan has started to become less of my “little” brother. In other words, I trust him more. I respect his opinions more. He has started to develop a significant level of intelligence, and it has made it much easier for us to get along and for me to trust him.

The last person I want to bring up is our guide, Yoram Mor. Yoram has been a guide for over 20 years, and it shows. He was a constant wealth of information that never needed to stop. If we wanted to change our itinerary for the day, he would have it done. If we wanted to cram three 1 hour activities into 2 hours, he would have it done. If you needed a good jewish joke, he would tell you one. He was always there when we needed him, and he never stopped spewing information about where we were. It is honestly astonishing how much I learned about Israel on this trip, and I have no doubt in my mind that he played a huge role in that happening.

Israel was awesome, no doubt about it.

Next week I break down the college application process, see you soon!