On November 2, the fourth cohort of Irwin Cotler Fellows embarked on their first field trip of the academic year to the magnificent ancient city of Beit She’an in Northern Israel. Located on the crossroads of the Via Maris trade route in the Jordan Valley, Beit She’an’s strategic location made it a thriving center of power and culture for millennia. A massive earthquake flattened most of the city in the 8th century, but thick layers of mud and silt covered and preserved archaeological wonders. Today, Beit She’an is home to the most marvelously excavated Roman ruins in Israel. Adriel Friedler (United States) commented that “it was immediately clear that Beit She’an is among the most breathtaking archaeological sites in the world. We could easily imagine its grandeur.”

Following Beit She’an, the Fellows traveled to the nearby Gan HaShlosha (Sakhne) National Park, where Dr. Carl Yonker, the Institute’s Academic Director, led a thought-provoking discussion on how the “Jerusalem” and “Tel Aviv” schools of archaeology interpret discoveries in relation to biblical narratives, sparking a wider conversation on how faith, politics, identity and history intersect in the study of Israel’s past. After the discussion, the Fellows swam and relaxed in the afternoon sun, enjoying the warm natural spring pools in one of the most beautiful national parks in the world.