Dear Jeff,
I cannot thank you enough for helping to make this the most incredible experience of my life. You made me feel welcomed, hosted some of the most fun times of my entire semester, and connected me to people who truly are the most admirable IÕve ever known. Wednesday nights with Melissa, Melissa and Batsheva were always a major highlight of my week. I learn, laughed, and become inspired every time I walked through your doors. Thank you and your wonderful staff for all youÕve given to me. From the day we met in the Old City and you eased my nerves about Birthright ending and me staying alone, youÕve brightened my world.
With endless Gratitude,
Alyse
George Deek is an Arab-Israeli diplomat. In 2018, Deek was appointed Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan. He is the first Israeli Arab Christian to become an ambassador. Deek grew up in an Eastern Orthodox Christian family in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa, in a building where the other tenants included Muslims, Catholics, Jews and a Catholic priest of Jewish ancestry.[2][3] His father, who worked as a tax advisor,[3] was one of the leaders of the Christian community in Jaffa who served as chairman of the Orthodox Association, and was considered a well-known and popular figure in the city until in 2015 a square was inaugurated in his memory in Jaffa in the presence of Mayor Ron Huldai.[4] According to Deek, his grandparents fled to Lebanon for safety when the 1947–1949 Palestine war, having been told that the Jews would slaughter them if they remained in their homes, but expecting to return home once Arab armies defeated the Jews.[3] According to Deek, when the war ended, his grandparents felt that they had been “deceived”, and decided to return illegally to their home in Jaffa rather than remaining in Lebanon as refugees. Since reentering the country was illegal, Deek’s grandfather, an electrician, was arrested and jailed.
