The meeting was devoted to studies  in Israel from the perspective of a Polish woman after completing two years of her master’s studies at the University of Haifa. The meeting was attended by members of the MISO community, representatives of NGOs and business, as well as academics.

Joanna Olszewska said that the idea of visiting Israel was due to family reasons, as she   wanted to discover the country to which her grandfather had emigrated. She went on to present some facts about studies in Israel, among others, indicating that there were about 12,000 foreign students studying there. The State of Israel would like to double this number, hence the state-run “Study in Israel” campaign.

According to the speaker, the application process to the Haifa University was not complicated, but it lasted quite a long time - mainly because of the beginning of the Covid-19 epidemic. It was a time long before the universal vaccination system, and she remembered her arrival and being in quarantine in the dormitory as a difficult experience. She stressed that before travelling to the University, she had received prompt assistance from the Israeli Embassy in dealing with all the formalities.

Joanna Olszewska said that no knowledge of Hebrew was required to begin her studies in Haifa, although six months before the start of the semester the university had offered her an accelerated course in the language, initially remotely and, upon her arrival in Israel, on-site.

The speaker told the assembled guests about cultural differences between studying in Poland and Israel. She remembered her student life differently than in Poland, saying that relations between lecturers and students are very direct. She also referred to Israeli society, which in her opinion, upon closer acquaintance, was very open, hospitable and able to open its home to guests from outside their country.

At the end of the meeting, Joanna Olszewska answered questions from the invited guests, including about the possibility of financing studies with scholarship programs, options for combining work and study, student life in the context of civic engagement, and daily life in Israel, too.

Joanna Olszewska is a graduate of Collegium Civitas in Warsaw and of Haifa University with a specialization in international relations, diplomacy and negotiations. During her studies Joanna completed her internship at the Department of International Security Policy of the Ministry of National Defense. She also worked as a research assistant at CEPA (Center for European Policy Analysis). Her academic area of interest was nuclear relations between the West and the East.

“Israeli Breakfasts” is a series of meetings about Israel that showcase the country through the lens of personal stories and experiences.The project aims to create a platform for dialogue on topics such as Israeli society, the role of women and the world of new technologies. The key to the Breakfasts is the search for an answer to the question: what unites - instead of dividing - Poles and Israelis? The meetings begin with a joint breakfast, during which invited guests have an opportunity to taste authentic Israeli cuisine.

ELNET (European Leadership Network) is an international non-profit organization with one goal - to exchange experiences and deepen cooperation between Europe and Israel based on common needs and democratic values.