By NOA AMOUYAL
Marcus Mesherky has spent his time at University of Haifa not only completing his degree in biomedical sciences, but fostering meaningful connections even when political tensions make it challenging to do so.
Mesherky, a Christian Arab-Israeli from Rami, a small town in northern Israel, is a second-generation student at University of Haifa. As such, he has internalized and is passionate about the school’s mission of cultivating a diverse and inclusive community for all students regardless of religion or ethnicity.
To that end, Mesherky is a former exchange student of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program, where high school students from countries with significant Muslim populations live and study for an academic year in the United States. At the University, he’s also a member of the Jewish-Arab leadership program.
Below, Mesherky talks about why a shared society is so important to him, his experience studying at the University during a difficult year, and his plans for the future.
What made you want to enroll in University of Haifa?
My dad is from Rami – a small town in the Upper Galilee. As kids, he often took us to the University where he was studying for his doctorate. From 1st-6th grade, I have fond memories of sipping hot chocolate at the library with my siblings. Ever since then, I knew this is where I’d want to study. My eldest sister felt the same way and just finished her degree in neurobiology. It was our home away from home.
As an Arab-Israeli, what has your experience at the University been like?
It has been a challenge. Luckily, feelings of nostalgia for my childhood and affection for the campus itself helped me hold on to hope when I struggled. I had difficulty learning Hebrew in the first semester and felt isolated.
Arab-Israelis have a very complicated identity. Because of the current state of Israeli politics and socio-economic inequalities, many of us feel a large culture and identity gap when we step onto Israeli campuses – even ones as diverse as University of Haifa. Some of us feel less Israeli than others, some even identify as Palestinian and, of course, we all find ourselves on different parts of that spectrum.
But this is one of the reasons why it’s difficult for us to communicate with our Jewish peers. We want to be open about who we are without being adversarial. Luckily, I now have a lot of Jewish friends who are comfortable asking me questions in a loving and respectful way. But for many other Arabs, and even myself, it’s challenging to navigate this.
That said, there are so many Jewish professors who make us feel seen. I’ve had quite a few of them in my major who made me feel cared for and included me. They see us as people and that kindness is what kept me going. They are really special lecturers.
Have things improved for you personally now that you’ve spent a lot of time with Jewish students?
Luckily, I’m a friendly guy. I work hard to get out of my bubble. Socializing in Hebrew is still pretty difficult. But I’ve had some amazing new experiences now that I’ve opened up my social circle. Just recently, a friend invited me to his wedding and it was the first Jewish wedding I attended. That experience taught me so much.
I understand you’re also a member of the Jewish-Arab leadership program. What has that been like?
It was a tough experience. It’s two hours of courses and then two hours of community service a week. I really liked it because I love the challenge of talking about difficult subject matters. During these meetings, I realized I didn’t understand so much about Jewish people. My parents are Christian, so I’m aware of the Old Testament, but there were still many things I was ignorant about. This was a major learning opportunity where we engaged in meaningful conversations even though those conversations were especially difficult to have in light of the war.
How did the war impact the general atmosphere of the campus?
There’s been a general undercurrent of fear, even though things went much smoother than I thought it would be. Yet, many of us feel isolated and are afraid to speak out which leads to tension. At the beginning of the year, they distributed orange bracelets that said, ‘Continuing to learn together.’ I’m still wearing that bracelet, because I believe in that mission. This is what we all should focus on.
As someone who’s done so well in reaching out to those with a different background, what do you think the University can do to continue fostering Arab-Jewish interactions?
I’d love to have game nights to bring us together and perhaps language exchange programs. We work hard to understand Hebrew and if they also worked to understand Arabic it would help with language barrier issues.
What’s next for you when you graduate this year?
I don’t know what I’ll do yet. I have many interests. Sometimes, I want to be a doctor, then I decide I want to be a veterinarian, then I’m interested in genetic engineering. So, I’m a bit all over the place at the moment and I hope destiny steers me in the right direction.