What I learned at Muss- Noah Yecutieli

Before boarding the plane to Alexander Muss High School in Israel, I had no idea what to expect from the four months that lay ahead of me. I mean, I know what I heard from friends who attended the school in the past, and I know what any typical boarding school should look like from T.V. shows, but I didn’t really have any clue how the program would be like to me.

Luckily I realize now that that stress was extremely premature as I can now say, having completed the program, that those four months were some of the best in my life. I mean, we spent days at a time traveling the length of an entire nation, seeking to learn the most we can about it, and yet it didn’t seem so much overwhelming as it does euphoric. In that endless nomadic journey of external and internal discovery, I couldn’t help but reflect on myself and come to an understanding on how I have changed as a person.

One thing about me I certainly can say has changed is my appreciation of Israel as the land of the Jewish people. From the peak of the Golan Heights to the port of Eilat, I have seen Israel in a way that many few will ever get to do in their lifetime. I soaked in the history of the country and its people, my people, in such depth that I couldn’t forget it if I tried. Of course, Israel has its flaws, as much as any other nation in the world, but now that I have learned and traversed the nation I understand its importance to my people more than ever. Because of this, I know that I will continue to speak out for it and seek to help it in whatever way I can; and I will do this effectively as now I have the knowledge to fully complete both tasks. My appreciation for Israel is something that could have never reached its full extent without the help of AMHSI.

Noah Yecutieli