BYU Jerusalem Center reopens after 18 months of closure, offers new opportunities to students

The BYU Jerusalem Center will be reopening for the Spring 2025 term for the first time since its closure in Oct. 2023, according to BYU News.

The Jerusalem Center closed in response to the conflict and unrest in Israel and Palestine that began on Oct. 7, 2023. In the intervening months, security concerns prevented students from participating in the BYU study abroad program.

Ross Baron, a religion professor who taught at the Jerusalem Center from 2018 to 2019, expressed his excitement for students.

Im super excited that the Jerusalem Center is opening up and Ill tell you why: because the blessing it is for students. It is beyond incredible, Baron said.

Baron lived there for a year and found the experience to be unlike any other.

The old city, meaning the old city in Jerusalem, is so amazing that it's unfathomable, Baron said. I could go every single day and theres gonna be something new; the sights, the sounds, the smells, the history, the spirit. Its just phenomenal.

Halle Burton, a student who was evacuated in Oct. 2023 from the Jerusalem Center, shared about the day they left.

Burton woke up early that morning to visit the Western Wall. She described the experience as sacred.

I still remember the feeling, Burton said.

It was later that day that she was stopped by a Palestinian soldier who told her to get to the bunkers. She was evacuated with the rest of the students to Greece a week later.

Even though her time in Jerusalem was cut short, she said that she still treasures her time there and is glad future students will be able to walk "where Jesus walked."

Im super excited for people to go back and have those experiences, Burton said.

Baron feels confident in the decision to reopen.

The First Presidency and the Board of Education are hyper-concerned about student safety, Baron said. If the First Presidency has approved the opening, they must feel pretty confident that were going to be safe.

Makia Haderlie was hoping to attend the Jerusalem Center before its initial closure.

That fall when I was waiting for applications to open is when the war broke out, Haderlie said. I would sit at night and I would just start thinking about it and get so excited and want to go so bad, but I was like, 'but theres nothing I can do.'

Now that the Jerusalem Center has reopened, Haderlie is planning to apply again.

I am so unbelievably excited, Haderlie said. I cant imagine a better way to set up the rest of my life and continue my spiritual learning with people who are just so knowledgeable and have so many resources and have an entire semester dedicated to that learning.

To find more information about the application process, details and security measures, visit the BYU Jerusalem Center website here.