AU’s College of Business played host to the group from Passages Israel on Oct. 17 in anticipation of an upcoming trip for current AU students to Israel during the summer of 2017.

Scott Phillips of Passages gave a brief historical recap of the history that surrounds modern Israel’s development from pre biblical times, Theodor Herzl’s vision that lead to the creation of Israel and the armed conflicts that have shaped modern Israel.

Phillips expressed the importance of American Christians connecting with the home of the Christian faith.

“There is something to going to the place where our faith had its origins and really tapping into our heritage and our history, and learning from it and connecting to it,” Phillips said. “It is important for students to be able to go to Israel, to the Middle East, really to any country outside of the United States to be able to broaden our experiences and broaden our thinking,  and realize that the world is much more than the United States, and much more than Ohio.”

The meeting is part of Passages’involvement with AU that is focused on building student for next summer’s 10 day trip. The trip is an immersive look at Israel from a biblical standpoint but will also give students perspective on current events that surround our democratic friends in the Middle East.

According to Passages Director of Alumni Engagement and Logistics, Chelsea Andrews, the trip provides a look at both sides of the current events that surround the region.

“The thing that is really amazing about the program is that we introduce all the narratives to the students when they come, so while we are absolutely are a pro Israel organization we play the intelligence of the people of the people who come on the trip and we give them every possible narrative from both sides.” Andrews said.

For more information on Passages Israel trip, email Chelsea Andrews at [email protected].