NYU Tel Aviv Made Me Who I Am Today: By Rebekah Thornhill Tokatlilar
Ten years ago, I visited Israel for the first time as one of 18 students who made up NYU Tel Aviv’s “pioneer” class. When the El Al plane landed, the woman sitting next to me said, without knowing me at all, “Welcome home,” and tears welled in my eyes. At the time, I wasn’t technically Jewish but felt like I was; hadn’t connected meaningfully to a Jewish community but here, felt like I belonged. That semester, I made lifelong friends, fell in love with Tel Aviv, learned a tremendous amount, and decided to pursue a conversion to Judaism. It was through relationships made during my time abroad that I became connected to the Bronfman Center, decided to pursue a career in Jewish education, and yes, met my husband.
Our mission at the Bronfman Center is to transform lives by being a home for Jewish students and a Jewish center for the whole university. Partnerships with NYU’s global network and particularly our connection to NYU Tel Aviv allow us to achieve our mission. This winter, the Bronfman Center will run the TavTech fellowship, a coding bootcamp for exceptional college students in partnership with NYU Tel Aviv. Last weekend, Rabbi Sarna spoke at a symposium hosted by NYU Tel Aviv in honor of the 10-year anniversary of the site’s opening. Importantly, NYU has expanded its campus in Tel Aviv with a new residence hall, state-of-the-art academic center, compelling course offerings, and impressive internship opportunities.
This September, I again boarded an El Al plane to Israel with my husband, toddler, and newborn baby to head to Tel Aviv, nearly 10 years to the day from that first flight. Navigating a 10-hour flight with babies was quite different than my flight 10 years ago. And the feeling of awe that came over me when I stepped foot on Tel Aviv soil with my family while remembering the 20-year-old whose life was forever changed by my time at NYU Tel Aviv is indescribable.
And while I am personally grateful to NYU for enabling and encouraging synergy between the component parts of its global network, I was reminded of its importance when I had coffee with three current NYU Tel Aviv students in September. They reflected for me their experiences thus far — the trips they’re taking, their internships at tech start-ups, heated discussions with faculty — and I was gratified to know that a decade later, students are still benefiting greatly from NYU’s presence in Israel.
If not for the support of parents and alumni who enable these partnerships to happen, I would not be where I am today and I’m certain that there are hundreds of others who feel the same.
Rebekah Thornhill Tokatlilar is Managing Director at the NYU Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life.
