This photo was taken at the bus station that looked run down and abandoned in Tel Aviv.

This photo was taken at the bus station that looked run down and abandoned in Tel Aviv. This tiyul was interesting to me because it gave me a new perspective of Israel. We learned both about modern Israeli identity issues. We also learned about the situation in Israel with refugees, asylum seekers and migrant workers. This issue was I interesting as I had never learned about it before. It also portrays Israel in an important light as a regular developed country that like every developed country has to ask itself if it will be a safe haven for refugees and how much so. The problem in my opinion with accepting refugees is that there simply isn’t enough room. Israel is already a tiny crowded country with limited resources and although it has a robust economy there just simply isn’t enough space for tens of thousands of immigrants who aren’t Jewish to come in. Another problem is I fear if Israel views itself as just another country and decides that they have to be multicultural, then the entire essence of a Jewish state is lost if there is not a vast Jewish majority. Overall I really liked the day which gave me a better sketch of modern secular Israel. - Ben