Keren works as a program assistant in the International Students Office. She helps to welcome new students. She also helps to process the I-20 student visas which allow foreign students to study at Mission College.

Hello my name is Keren Weksler; I was born in Jerusalem, Israel in 1977.

I am the eldest daughter of four children in my family. I have one sister and two brothers.

PLACES TO SEE - Israel is a small beautiful country to visit. We have mountains, deserts, green fields, and beautiful lakes. Everywhere you go you will find interesting things to see. Up in the north we have the Chermon, which is a mountain that during the winter fills with snow and we can ski on it. In the south we have the city of Eilat, it is a tourism city that is beautiful and is on the red sea. North from Eilat we have the Dead Sea that is also a tourism place. In the Dead Sea we have special pools to heal skin diseases etc…we also have the Kineret, a lake that is located in Tiberius close to the north. We have the Judea Desert, which is a beautiful place just to hike in. We have lots of other places to see and enjoy a stay in Israel.

MUSIC – A lot of middle-eastern music, pop, rock, soft music, etc…we listen to everything, single singers men and women like: Rita, Shlomo Artzi, Ahinoam Nini, Boaz Shaarabi, Sarit Hadada, etc… and groups of men and women like: Machina, etc…

FOOD – We eat Humus, which means yellow Garbanzo, eggplant salads, pita bread, and a lot of fish pastas, pizzas, and meat of course

HOLIDAYS – There are two very important holidays in Judaism. One is “Rosh Hashanah” the “Hebrew New Year” and the second is “Passover”. The “Hebrew New Year” comes around September and opens the Hebrew year. The month of Tishrei is the first month of the Hebrew Year. In this holiday we eat apples with honey so we will have a sweet year. “Passover” is between March and May, this is the holiday when we celebrate the Hebrews released from Pharaoh in Egypt after being slaves for many years. Here for 7 days we are not allowed to eat bread or anything that was made from flower or Yeast, because our people didn’t have the time to wait for the bread to rise when the escaped from Egypt.

We have more important holidays like “Yom Kippur”, when we have to fast for a whole day to ask for forgiveness from God by praying the whole day for our since in the past year. This holiday comes right after “Rosh Hashanah”. Another Holiday is “Sukkoth” when for seven days we eat, and sleep in the Suka, which is a reminder that our people slept in tents for forty years when they walked in the desert before they reached the land of Israel. We have many other holidays to celebrate, many more wonderful traditions.

When boys reach the age of 8 days they are going through a ceremony of circumcision that enters them to Judaism. When they reach the age of 13 years old they enter adulthood and become men, they go through a ceremony called Bar Mitzvah. Girls enter adulthood and become mature women at the age of 12 and this ceremony is called Bat Mitzvah. When men and women get married the ceremony is held under a Hupa, with a rabbi under the eyes of God. The man signs an agreement to take care of his wife at least like she was taken care of in her parents home.

In Israel we all go to the army when we finish high school and reach the age of 18, it is mandatory. Boys serve for a minimum of 3 years, and girls serve for a minimum of 2 years. If they become officers they serve more. To be a soldier in Israel is a great honor. Right now the situation in Israel is dangerous, there is a lot of fighting between Israelis and Palestinians. We hope that the situation will quiet down soon and we can get more tourists to come and visit our beautiful country.