Microgrant Spotlight: Tel Aviv Internship Experience

In 2020, Memet Kemaloglu and nine of his peers attended the first ever Sciences Po Israel Trek. The smaller group allowed for cohesion and meaningful bonding, and Memet had such an incredible experience as a participant that he decided to be an itrek Leader for the 2021 Israel Trek. Though that trip was canceled at the last minute due to the pandemic, he finally led in May 2022 – with a whopping 40 participants, over quadruple the number of participants on his (and Science Po’s) first Israel Trek. 

At first, Memet was hesitant to visit Israel: “I’m coming from the French suburbs of Paris and I have a Muslim background. It was not written in advance for me to be in Israel one day.” But he felt welcomed right away in Israel. “It took me some time to say it, but I felt at home in every place we visited and every meeting we had in Israel. When I told people that I was Kurdish, everyone was happy. This is something Kurdish people are not used to. Usually people don’t know us, or don’t like this. This was the first time people were respecting me and liking me because of my origins.”

Memet particularly loved the atmosphere of Tel Aviv. “When I finished my second Israel Trek experience, I was sure I wanted to come back to Tel Aviv for an internship. I didn’t know how, but I was sure I would be back in a few months.” Sure enough, by September 2022, Memet was back in Israel – four months after the Israel Trek ended. 

During his first trip to Israel, Memet had connected with their French Israeli tour guide who led them through the Golan Heights. The guide was a security expert, and had written an article with a researcher from the Moshe Dayan Center. The tour guide connected Memet with the researcher, who helped Memet secure an internship at the Center. Since the internship was an unpaid position, Memet applied for an itrek Microgrant, which, along with a grant from the French government, helped to subsidize his research experience. 

The main goal of Memet’s internship was to write a geopolitical article. Memet is French and Kurdish, so he had been initially interested in working at the Moshe Dayan Center because they have professors and experts on Kurdish issues. He had some ideas about what he wanted his paper to be about, but was told some of his initial plans were a bit ambitious: “I spoke with a woman who worked at the Dayan Center, and she told me that I can’t write a PhD in four and a half months.” Ultimately, Memet focused his paper on the Kurdish people in Syria, and the connection between Turkish foreign policy in an autonomous region of the Kurds. 

As part of his project, Memet also met members of the Kurdish Jewish community in Israel: “This was very moving for me because it was the first time that I met members of the Jewish community who are Kurdish – Israelis with Kurdish origin. Before, I’d only ever met Muslim Kurdish people.” 

When Memet saw itrek Director of Israel Programs & Operations Michal Alperson at an itrek event, Michal connected Memet with her Kurdish neighbor, who had created her own company cooking Kurdish food for people. “Michal invited me to eat at her neighbor’s house and it was amazing. It was the first time in my life that someone invited me to eat at a table with a Kurdish flag. I connected the neighbor, who is Jewish, with my Muslim family in France. It was amazing to connect them, and I was so proud of it. They are different people, and they have lots of different political points of view – but they have their Kurdish origin in common.”

During his internship, Memet had several opportunities to meet influentials in Israel and share his expertise. Michal’s neighbor invited Memet to the Knesset, where he was introduced to the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eli Cohen. He also gave several presentations about Kurdish people, including at a dinner with the President of the French Israel Foundation, which was created to strengthen connections between French and Israeli people. 

Memet’s internship experience helped him to reconnect to his Kurdish identity. “I was not so connected to my Kurdish identity in France. At home we live as Kurdish people, but outside my home, I am part of the French community. This internship allowed me to reconnect with my Kurdish identity because Kurdish people in Israel are respected, loved, and recognized – because they are Kurdish. Israel may be one of the only countries around the world where Kurdish people feel this connection.” 

Memet draws a distinction between the experience of visiting Israel as a tourist versus living there for several months. “When you’re just visiting the country, you’re living in hotels, visiting amazing places, there’s great food, and you’re welcomed everywhere.” The same is not true when you’re living more like a “local” – both for better and for worse. Memet said he no longer felt welcomed everywhere, but he was also able to connect more with Israelis. “I had a better understanding of Israeli society and Israeli people because I lived with them. And that makes a big difference.” 

At the end of the interview for this article, Memet shared some final reflections about his experience in Israel and his research work at the Moshe Dayan Center:

“There are not many places where Kurds are appreciated for who they are. They are often criticized, or people don’t even know who they are. Israel was one of the first places I could feel appreciated and loved for who I am. I think it’s because Kurds have something in common with Jewish people – they share a tragic past. When I did presentations in Israel I felt like a spokesperson for the Kurdish people. When writing my paper I read lots of books, and they helped me understand more about the past and present of the Kurdish people. When you are doing something you like, it is not ‘work.’ I enjoyed the experience from the first day until the last one.”