Jitli. What is Jitli? Jitli stands for Jacobs International Teen Leadership Institute. It is a summer program where there are 10 participants from Lakiya, 10 from Segev Shalom, 10 from Shar ha Negev, and 10 from San Diego. We start off and we begin as strangers but quickly transform into brothers and sisters. For me Jitli was much more than a summer experience of visiting Israel and seeing it with a group of people who were my age, Jilit was life changing it is eye eye opening. The whole journey was an experience of revelations but to me there was one specific moment where I was left in complete awe and was completely changed. It was the 9th of July. We woke up at the crack of dawn to see the sunrise shine and paint the city in vibrant colors. We saw Jerusalem before our eyes and were asked what it meant to us. Answers varied around the circle but they all had something to do with a connection around God and their faith. I realized that that too was the reason I found a connection with Jerusalem as well as the 39 other participants in the circle. We all had a relationship with Jerusalem and our faith was what was connecting to a more spiritual side as well as a side of war and hatred in attempts of having Jerusalem all to one religion. This truly was the moment that changed not only my summer experience but my life. I was know able to see so many different things and I am happy to say that because of this moment I am a changed person.
