The recent death of Yasser Arafat, the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, has brought about many concerns related to the future of the seven current University study abroad programs in Israel.
Speculation has arisen over whether or not the recent death of Arafat will jeopardize those abroad because it could destabilize the already shaky relationship between Israel and Palestine.
Though University study abroad programs will continue as planned, those plans may be impacted if the region becomes unstable.
"I don't think the programs will be changed solely on the events dealing with Arafat, but if things were to change and if there was more activity in the region, the University might have to re-evaluate their position," Director of Penn Study Abroad Geoffrey Gee said.
College junior Josh Weinstein intends to study abroad in Israel next semester and does not expect Arafat's death to impact his plans.
"I guess I have some reservations to the introduction of new factors to the situation" in Israel, Weinstein said. "I think this is generally being viewed as a new and positive opportunity for the Israeli government to create a future stable situation."
The political state of the region has impacted University policy in the past. All programs were suspended in spring 2002, but reinstated last year.
"The Israel programs were suspended because of concerns for the safety of students," Gee said, "but this suspension was not just for Israel, it was for other places in the world [and it was] driven by known acts of violence or United States Department of State warnings."
Gee also stated that the decision was made after researching how other schools across the country were handling the same situation.
"These decisions have always been pretty informed ones," Gee said.
Last year, Penn Study Abroad decided to lift this suspension to Israel and allow students to petition to study there, accepting candidates on a case-by-case basis.
"We realized that there was still the environment for potential violence, but the number of incidents in Israel had become fewer in recent years," Gee said.
Gee stated that although students were being allowed to study in Israel, they had to show a convincing academic argument for why they should be allowed to go.
Both students and their parents must sign waivers allowing them to attend the program, and a student's academic adviser must submit a petition explaining a legitimate reason for the student to study abroad.
The decision to enroll "is a very personal decision on a safety level, and a student can always change his or her mind to attend," Gee said.
