Update: 7/28/06: BYU will not re-open Jerusalem Center this fall.
In an update to my original BYU Jerusalem post here, BYU Newsnet reports that The Center is now being used as a voluntary relocation center for Church members living in Israel. Members are congretating there to stay away from missile fire. BYU Jerusalem’s fall semester is now in question:
As LDS Church members living in Israel are being “voluntarily relocated” to the BYU Jerusalem Center to be away from missile fire, the status of the BYU Jerusalem program for fall semester is in question.
Church members living in the Tiberias area of Israel, an area frequently visited by BYU students studying at the Jerusalem Center, relocated from their homes to the Center as missiles struck Saturday, according to Ann Hansen, a church member living in Israel. The members were in their church building on the Sabbath when missiles began striking a mere two blocks from the building. Windows at the back of the chapel were broken by missile blasts.
Carri Jenkins, University spokesperson, said an invitation was extended to church members living in Northern Israel to stay at the Jerusalem Center, and about 18 members are currently at the Center. Hansen believed about 30 initially accepted the offer, but didn’t say how many currently remain.
The Center is an attractive option not only for its location and empty dorm rooms, but also for the its bomb shelter:
Members relocated to the Jerusalem Center because it sits farther away from the Lebanon border than their homes in Tiberias, making a longer distance for the missiles to travel. The Center has empty dorm rooms and a bomb shelter that can house a couple hundred people.
BYU has not yet made a decision about the status of the program.
“We are aware of what is happening,” Jenkins said. “We are closely monitoring the situation.”
As in the past, situations in the Middle East change rapidly.
“When BYU announced the program [in June], everything was looking pretty peaceful and calm, but things flared up,” said Chad Emmett, an associate geography professor. “But as things go in the Middle East, [the violence] could die down soon too. It’s too soon to tell what is going to happen.”
BYU students who originally signed up to return to The Center this fall are now reconsidering, as missiles now are falling further and further into Israel:
Given the current situation in the Middle East, students who had been considering applying to study in Jerusalem may be reconsidering.
“I was really excited about the possibility of studying in Jerusalem,” said Rachel Ricchio, a junior majoring in nursing. “Now I’m not so sure. The violence is really making me rethink applying. I wouldn’t want to get over there and then be locked in the Center because of the violence.”
BYU announced in June that the Jerusalem program would resume after being closed to students since 2001. Applications for the program were accepted from June 26-July 7. There were approximately 125 students who applied for 44 spots in the program. Students who were accepted will be notified by the end of the month, Jenkins said.
Because of the risk associated with travel in Israel and within the Holy Land, the State Department asks U.S. citizens to carefully consider the necessity of travel in the area. The State Department also urges Americans to avoid the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
I’m sure the Church and BYU officials are very closely monitoring developments. This has to be a heart break for those students planning on attending in the Fall. While it’s still too early to tell, the fact that missiles are traveling greater distances into Israel cannot be a good sign.
July 20, 2006 at 9:25 pm
It’s interesting how church-owned properties (as “stakes” in Zion), such as chapels and stake centers, become places of refuge during crises. To see that such is the case with the Jerusalem center is no big surprise.
I’m very curious to see how the Israel crisis will play out in the ensuing weeks/months, and how that will affect BYU’s (and the church’s) presence over there…
July 21, 2006 at 5:50 am
I don’t see this particular action spreading, now that a few days have gone by. Israel is judiciously avoiding even the threat of attacking Syria (not to mention Iran), even though neo-cons (who somehow still have the ear of the president), call this our war and that we (America and Israel) should go after Syria and Iran now. It won’t happen. Both Syria and Iran are playing up their influence to our detriment in the region. Syria is opening her borders to the refugees (notice that no Lebanese refugees are going towards Israel), which is scoring major points for Syria at Israel’s loss. Bush gave Israel one week to take out Hezbollah. Israel will invade southern Lebanon once again with ground forces. I am sure they have a plan, a contingency, they’ve prepared for the last six years just for this moment. I cannot see them succeeding in wiping out Hezbollah in one week though, (and now they are down to just several days–probably by Tuesday of next week–before Rice makes her slow trip accross the waters to try and “do something.”).
This is how I forsee things happening.
Israel will create their “buffer zone” in southern Lebanon with ground forces in the next couple of days. There will be many deaths. Many Israeli soldiers will die. Many Hezbollah members will die. Scores more civilians in both countries will die. Hezbollah will weather the storm (as they’ve done before–they know Israel has a time limit on their actions, meanwhile they don’t have a parent telling them to get their actions over with withing an alloted time).
The two soldiers will be returned back to Israel in a prisoner exchange, but the soldiers will probably be returned in coffins as punishment for the civilians killed in Lebanon.
Hezbollah will continue to exist and will have scored more points with the Lebanese because they stood up to Israel who bombed the hell out of civilians in Beirut and southern Lebanon.
Syria will have more influence in Lebanon because they opened their borders to the refugees, and because they did not flinch at Israeli actions.
The Lebanese who trusted America will wonder why America moved so slowly while their country was bombed to smithereens. After all, wasn’t Lebanon Bush’s only real success in the Middle East? Isn’t Lebanon the only country to successfully have a democratically elected government without the incursion of American troops? Why is Bush sacrificing this? they will wonder. The Shias, as in Iraq, will gain more power and influence, and therefore Iran will continue with their influence in Lebanon.
In the end, Israel will continue to have a harasser to the north.
The problem with wars today is that they are not total, not complete. They don’t totally subjugate a population, pummel them to the point where they tire of war. The problem with bombs and missiles is that they don’t alter a population, they don’t subjugate anyone. Yeah, they destroy buildings, yeah they blow people up, but real power, real influence only comes from human beings on the ground.
Bush supporters like to use World War Two as a guide to their “war on terror.” If we look at WWII, America got involved in December 1941. Three and a half years later, the entire world was fundamentally altered. It is now five years into this “war on terror,” yet I have not seen any indication that we are winning it. In fact, I see it to the contrary.
Sorry, I got rambling. I obviously feel strongly about this (as many do). I believe Israel will be a safe place for the time being. It certainly won’t be destroyed anytime soon. It will be a safe enough place for the “two prophets” to preach for three and a half years in Jerusalem, and we’re not there yet.
July 27, 2006 at 11:56 pm
[…] In case you are wondering what the status of the BYU Jerusalem Center is during the latest middle-east conflict, I suggest you read this post. Personally, I think the chances of the Jerusalem opening this fall as was planned is pretty slim. […]
June 3, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Do you have email and phone number to contact the Jerusalem center, how can I obtain it?
June 5, 2007 at 3:13 pm
I’m sorry. I don’t have that information. You might try BYU directly. Good Luck!
September 24, 2008 at 3:25 pm
[…] the status of the BYU Jerusalem Center is during the latest middle-east conflict, I suggest you read this post. Personally, I think the chances of the Jerusalem opening this fall as was planned is pretty […]