Phil Tonseth ‘22
Former EIC
After COVID-19 canceled iTrek in 2021 and pushed the 2022 version back to Spring Break of 2022, eleven UVA Law students visited Israel from March 5 to 12 this year. Complementing the group, the cohort from UVA Law teamed up with twenty-six students from UPenn Law so that both groups could have a more fulfilling group and comingle with like-minded schools.
In signing up for iTrek, I truly had no idea what I was getting into. However, with the only individual costs for the trip being to pay for the flight from the US to Israel, along with a $350 fee, I couldn’t not take advantage of it. How was the trip so affordable? iTrek is actually both the name of the trip and the name of the non-profit that helps to subsidize the trip. iTrek is funded solely through philanthropic and private donations, while also maintaining a nonpartisan nature by not accepting government donations. The trips to Israel aren’t solely for law students either, as iTrek also supports programs for business and public policy graduate students. But, back to my continuing personal use of the Law Weekly to talk about my social life.
Photo Courtesy of Phil Tonseth '22
Choosing to spend the only real Spring Break I got as a 3L on a semi-educational trip, rather than visiting Aruba or a similar location, was a tough sell initially. After realistically evaluating the situation, though, I knew I’d probably never get another chance to take a week-long vacation to Israel, let alone tour the sites I was able to see during the week I was there. The memories of taking a scooter down the beach of Tel-Aviv, to placing a note in the Western Wall, to visiting both Palestine and the Gaza Strip to attempt to understand both sides of the current conflict in the region, are life-changing.
By now, you’re probably thinking this trip was all briefings and meetings with various important speakers who attempted to pass on their views to law students and change their opinion on the region. That’s slightly correct. To iTrek’s (and the UVA/Penn law leaders’) credit, we heard from speakers on all sides of the issues. We visited with members of the Israeli Defense Force, Supreme Court, and journalists who supported and defended the Israeli positions on multiple different issues affecting their country. Conversely, we also visited the Palestinian Chief Prosecutor and Attorney General, toured a refugee camp, and walked the separation wall that divides East and West Jerusalem with a Palestinian resident to attempt to understand the complex divide between the two regions. Kara Kwert, one of the UVA leaders, spoke to this diverse programming. “In planning the trip, it was crucial for us to provide as many perspectives as possible in a week-long trip. We encouraged our participants to bring diverse backgrounds, to really engage with the complexities on the ground, and to ask tough questions. There is always more to learn, but this opportunity was a great start.”
Photo Courtesy of Phil Tonseth '22
We also did a lot of fun activities to balance out the trip and make it Spring Break “worthy.” Driving through the Golan Heights on the first day on ATVs was only the start. We spent the last afternoon in Israel floating in the Dead Sea, taking a tour of Tel-Aviv on electric scooters, walking the Old City of Jerusalem, attending a service at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and going to a mixer with a prominent Israeli law firm. Plus, iTrek provided a professional photographer to document our trip half of the time, so all of the attendees were able to really enjoy various moments without having to live on their phones.[1]
Jeffrey Stiles, another of UVA Law’s leaders for this year’s trip, reflected by saying, “[A]ttending this year’s iTrek felt like a culmination of several years of waiting, especially after the challenges faced this year in planning. I had always wanted to go to Israel, but doing so with my law school friends made the experience even better. I’m still processing and questioning what I saw and experienced on the trip, but I look forward to continuing that journey.”
In closing, I truly have to thank and give all of the credit to the three UVA Law students who led our small cohort. The combination of Kara Kwert, Jeffrey Stiles, and Leon Ebani did an amazing job in helping to build our itinerary, herd all thirty-seven of us together logistically and provide for an awe-inspiring experience. If you have the chance to go on iTrek in future years, I highly recommend taking the chance. It’s an experience you won’t forget.
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pjt5hm@virginia.edu
[1] Plus, we all got pretty dope new headshots and dating profile pics. It was a win-win all around.