A persistent sophomore determined to spend a semester in Israel has influenced Drew University to liberalize its policy on studying abroad.
The Madison-based university will now permit students to study in Israel if they sign waivers that would relieve Drew of any liability if they are injured overseas.
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Jeremy Dery, on campus at Tel Aviv University, was pleased to hear the news that the Drew University administration will loosen its restrictions on study in Israel. Photo by Jelle Dery |
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The policy was approved March 5 after a review of travel polices by a student-faculty-administration committee.
The committee approved a waiver that "we felt fit Drew," said David Muha, the school’s chief communications officer. "We are now amending our study abroad policy to include a waiver option for students who want to travel to what would otherwise be an approved university" but for Drew’s assessment of the level of risk involved.
Muha said as long as a foreign university is accredited, students would be allowed to sign waivers that would "pretty much apply" anywhere in the world.
The decision is a victory for Jeremy Dery of Livingston, who turned to the media and Je
wish organizations after the university, citing insurance concerns, denied him permission to spend a term at Tel Aviv University .
Dery, who took a leave of absence from Drew, is currently taking five courses at Tel Aviv University, studying Hebrew, contemporary Jewish issues, Israeli politics, and Islamic ideologies.
"We will basically allow him to request that his credits be transferred from Tel Aviv," said Muha. "I don’t imagine there will be any problem."
Responding to an e-mail from NJ Jewish News informing him of Drew’s decision, Dery wrote, "This is great news. I am very pleased with the decision from Drew University and I hope students will take advantage of this great opportunity. I am having the time of my life here in Israel."
Reached before last Thursday’s deadly terrorist attack on a Jerusalem yeshiva,
Dery said he feels "a lot safer" on his Israeli campus, where there are security guards and checkpoints "all over the university."
Officials from United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ, who urged Drew administrators to adopt a more lenient stance toward study in Israel, welcomed the decision.
"What is important is that Drew has allowed its students to travel abroad and get credit," said Merle Kalishman of Livingston, chair of the UJC MetroWest Community Relations Committee. "I think everybody is entitled to that. I think people should know we have a Community Relations Committee that is in a position to address things that are discriminatory. We will help our constituents when those kinds of problems arise."
Philip Horn of West Orange, chair of the CRC’s Israel and World Affairs Committee, said, "In our tradition a good agreement is one in which one side profits and the other side doesn’t lose. In this case, forceful action by our community has secured a victory for Drew University and, perhaps most important, for its students. Credit goes to Jeremy and his mother for having the courage to press this issue."
CRC director Lori Price Abrams and Max Kleinman, UJC MetroWest NJ executive vice president, met with members of the Drew University committee in December to advise the administration on easing its travel restrictions.
"We provided information and counsel to them," said Kleinman. "I commend the university for going through this process and coming up with the right recommendation."
"I am sorry Jeremy had to go through all of this sturm und drang," added Kleinman. "But at the end of the day, he will be getting credit for his studies and we have created a community activist."
Price Abrams was equally pleased. "We believe Drew will come through stronger for having gone through this process," she said. "Hopefully it will benefit many other students who wish to travel in the future."
Dery said he plans to return to New Jersey in late June or early July and reenter Drew as a junior in September. Although his career plans were uncertain before he left home in January, he wrote that he has "a new ambition: It is to become an ambassador to Israel.
Local stories posted courtesy of the New Jersey Jewish News