By Davi Frank, Adamah on Campus Chapter Leader at Princeton University (2023-2024)
Since February, I’ve had the honor to study at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Ketura, Israel. Here, I have had the opportunity to study with incredible peers and professors, and have made connections which will last far beyond the conclusion of the semester.
I think it is critical to start this post by explaining a bit about my background. I am a Modern Orthodox Jew who grew up in Baltimore and New York. I was raised in a Zionist home and community which instilled within me a love for the Jewish people and a desire to learn more and contribute to the Jewish state. I was also raised on the values of environmentalism and sustainability. My maternal grandfather was a climate scientist who was one of the first advocates for greenhouse gas emissions research and policy at Exxon before they eliminated his research team. From a young age, my parents taught me the importance of caring for a sustainable world. I always felt passionate about being an environmental leader.
These passions which I developed early in life led me to study both Near Eastern Studies and Environmental Studies at Princeton University for my undergraduate degree. Prior to beginning my degree, I would not have seen such an intersection between these fields. I began to conduct research as an undergraduate on the transformation of a river in Northern Israel. Without going into too much detail, what I discovered in my research was that in order to understand environmental policy and change in Israel, it was critical to learn more about the conflict and the geopolitical and historical context from which it began. This inspired me to study abroad for a summer in Jordan, where I was able to become relatively proficient in Arabic. I cherished the opportunity to speak with Jordanians of Palestinian descent about their lives and family histories and discovered how meaningful the power of storytelling and dialogue can be.
When I first heard about the Arava Institute, I was shocked that there could be an academic institution which was so catered to my interests. Despite Princeton’s pushbacks in studying in Israel because of security concerns, I pushed them to grant me permission to study at the Institute for a semester. I was ultimately successful, and have been enormously satisfied with the decision to study here this semester.
The institute is constantly challenging what environmental stewardship can look like in a world bound by political borders and unrest. I learned here that while the basic mantra of the Institute is that “nature knows no borders,” the reality of the Middle East is far more complex. Different actors in this region need to understand when the environment transcends political borders, and also when nature is anthropogenically differently altered across varying political borders. Every class that I’ve had here, whether more focused on science or politics, has included that complex conversation which is critical to the work which the Institute does. I have really appreciated the honesty and humility with which the professors who I’ve been lucky to study with conduct themselves, which is hard when attempting to enact ground-breaking work to combat simultaneous political and environmental crises. As someone who is aspiring to be a change-maker in this field, hearing and understanding these nuances from professionals has opened my eyes to the practical work of well-grounded applied research.
Furthermore, it has been such an honor and privilege to have met the diverse student population which the Institute brings together. As one of very few international students this semester, it has been incredible to connect with students and interns who I would have never met otherwise. I have developed meaningful relationships with my roommates and peers while utilizing both my Hebrew and Arabic in the process. It has been critical for me to hear the stories of my peers both in and out of the official dialogue space. In addition to allowing me to deepen relationships, this has allowed me to widen my perspective of the different truths which people who live in and out of this region experience. Throughout the hardships and traumas which we discover here at the Institute, we are building deep channels of support and comfort to face the challenging realities which we face.
Moreover, as one of very few religious students on the program, it has been so important for me to both share my lifestyle with others and connect with Muslim peers. On a recent trip to an Arab village in the Negev, one of my Muslim friends invited me to pray with him at the local Mosque during the fajr services at the crack of dawn. It has been so spiritually moving for me to be able to connect with others in this realm, simultaneously while being surrounded by the uplifting atmosphere of the still and vast Arava desert.
I must express again how grateful I am to have had this experience so far. It has been such a unique experience for an American university student. In a time in which our world is being plagued by toxic, extremist ideological battles, it has been so critical for me to hear the real-life stories of those experiencing this conflict. I have come to understand how critical social and environmental change are for our ever-changing reality, and how we need to ground such work in the nuances which our world includes. I will forever cherish the time I have spent here. I hope that this semester is only the beginning of engagement in this incredibly critical, meaningful, and complex work.
May we see more peaceful and sustainable times.
About the Author
Davi Frank is a junior at Princeton University studying Near Eastern Studies with minors in Environmental Studies and Religion. He founded and co-led the Adamah on Campus Chapter at Princeton for two years. In that role, he helped create meaningful events on campus, including a Jewish Learning Fellowship centered around Jewish ethics during a time of climate change, reverse tashlich events to cleanup nearby streams, and an environmentally themed Shabbat including a panel of activists, clergy, and professors in the field of environmental ethics and protection.