Poland Trip Testimonials
Hi! My name is Dalia Lieberman I am from Long Island, New York. I am a Lehigh University student studying psychology, health medicine, and society. I love to travel, try new foods, and connect with new people!
It’s been very difficult for me to put into words the impact that the Poland trip left on me. A place that changed my life but also a place I will never return to again. It gave me a whole new perspective, taught me new things about myself, and brought me closer to people I have never met before in such a short amount of time.
As a Jewish individual, I knew this trip was going to be important and it was something that I had to do for myself and for all the innocent people who lost their lives because of it. This trip showed that in such horrible circumstances, the Jewish people always show such love for one another. I’ve realized that wherever I am in the world the Jewish people always find a way to connect and come together unified with such acceptance towards one another. I don’t know how to describe it but going on this Poland trip and meeting such inspiring and incredible people from all over the world gave me this indescribable feeling I am forever impacted by. I quite literally walked in the footsteps of my ancestors who were murdered in the Holocaust, all of my senses were activated through this experience as I was going through the most heart-wrenching experience of my life. Lives were ended for the sole purpose of being Jewish, this was an experience I will never forget and we must never forget. It’s still an experience I can’t comprehend and I’m still processing it which I probably will always be. I am so incredibly grateful for this experience as I will live each day with such pride for being Jewish and hold onto the strength of those who so innocently lost their lives.
As a Jewish individual, I knew this trip was going to be important and it was something that I had to do for myself and for all the innocent people who lost their lives because of it. This trip showed that in such horrible circumstances, the Jewish people always show such love for one another. I’ve realized that wherever I am in the world the Jewish people always find a way to connect and come together unified with such acceptance towards one another. I don’t know how to describe it but going on this Poland trip and meeting such inspiring and incredible people from all over the world gave me this indescribable feeling I am forever impacted by. I quite literally walked in the footsteps of my ancestors who were murdered in the Holocaust, all of my senses were activated through this experience as I was going through the most heart-wrenching experience of my life. Lives were ended for the sole purpose of being Jewish, this was an experience I will never forget and we must never forget. It’s still an experience I can’t comprehend and I’m still processing it which I probably will always be. I am so incredibly grateful for this experience as I will live each day with such pride for being Jewish and hold onto the strength of those who so innocently lost their lives.
Katey Goldman Wisconsin/IES Barcelona and Shaylee Roth
Matt Epstein -Cornell/IES Barcelona
Shaylee Roth
Having the opportunity to travel to Poland and learn about the tragic history that occurred during the Holocaust would be one of a lifetime. I have been to Israel three times, with family and friends, which has opened my eyes to connecting more with my Jewish heritage. Going to Poland will allow me to hone into these feelings at a greater level, and carry on the legacy of the Jewish people.
I want to join the Poland group because I am incredibly connected to my Jewish self and other Jews, which is a large part of my identity. This trip will be filled with emotion, spirituality, and learning more about the stories of our people we must never forget. This is something that will allow me to tell the stories that we must never forget. I don't think there are the words that can express the feelings that will be felt but I know that this experience will be forever remembered and life impacting.
I want to join the Poland Trip as I was in israel this summer and uncovered my jewish identity. This past semester I participated as a sini scholar in my University chabad which was an amazing experience. I want to continue learning about my jewish identity and know the Poland trip will be a once in a lifetime experience.
Previous
Next
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.
