A course on Judaism and Budhism in India

The course “The Treasure beneath the Bridge” was created by the Department of Bible studies and Israeli Culture in the Kibbutzim College in collaboration with Bina House in Dharamsala, India.

This one-week course was given close to Shavuot holiday on June 2019 and was offered to backpackers (pre-university students) to accrue academic credits while on their “big trip” in India. The course dealt with substantial issues in the meeting between Israeli culture and the local Indian culture and included academic lectures as well as experiential workshops and excursions. It was led by two lecturers from the Department of Bible Studies and Israeli Culture – Dr. Haim Hayun and Dr. Moran Gam-HaCohen, the head of the Department – and by the Bina House staff. The course was offered in two tracks: The open, non-obligatory track and the academic track which obligated regular attendance and submission of assignments to earn academic credits.

The course was highly successful. More than 300 backpackers were exposed to it during this week. Out of them 65 attended the course and 20 completed the tasks and received academic credit. Responses of the students were highly enthusiastic and appreciative to have received such a meaningful academic encounter.