Eighteen months after BYU evacuated students from its Jerusalem Center due to the Gaza war, the school announced it will resume student programs there in April.
“Jerusalem has been quiet for several months and there are strong signs of improved security throughout the Holy Land as cease-fire agreements in both Gaza and Lebanon appear to be holding,” said Jim Kearl, assistant to the university president for the Jerusalem Center, in a statement posted on BYU’s website.
Kearl noted that European airlines have resumed flights to Tel Aviv and U.S. airlines have announced they will resume flights to Tel Aviv on April 1.
“There are likely to be occasional short-term flare ups and ups and downs in the security situation as negotiations move from temporary cease-fire agreements to more permanent cessations of hostilities in Gaza and along Israel’s northern border,” Kearl stated. “Nevertheless, we are confident that students who enroll in the Spring/Summer 2025 Program will have a safe and meaningful experience.”
The BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies will hold a full Spring/Summer 2025 program beginning on April 29, the website said.
Applications are due before Feb. 28. Students at BYU, BYU-Hawaii and BYU-Idaho who are interested in studying at the Jerusalem Center can learn more about the Jerusalem Center Application at https://jerusalemcenter.ce.byu.edu/how-to-apply.
After Hamas-led militant groups attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the students at the Jerusalem Center sheltered and studied in place on the center’s campus. Field trips were canceled and students moved to the center’s shelters at least once after sirens sounded in Jerusalem.
After a week, the school evacuated its 93 students and faculty, faculty families and service couples to Greece, where studies resumed.
The Jerusalem Center, which sits on Mount Scopus in East Jerusalem, celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2024 without students. The center is operated by Brigham Young University, which is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Its largest function is hosting students who study scripture and history and visit sites throughout the region. The center also hosts concerts and other events.
The BYU center has never been threatened by violence in the region because of its location a mile from the Old City in an isolated area surrounded by important Arab sites and neighborhoods.
Out of caution, the center has occasionally altered operations, which are designed to include travel and field trips throughout Israel and in neighboring countries, or closed during conflict or unrest. For example, the Jerusalem Center closed to students from 2000-07 during the Second Intifada.
Kearl said the center’s academic program activities would be subject to day-to-day adjustments again this summer, based on evaluations of travel risk.