陳霽之 Jill Chen

|| Gratitude || 

Thanks for all the resources that made our Israel study tour possible. It was  fortunate and precious to share these two weeks of memories with these 29 people,  traveling together to unfamiliar places, learning, eating, playing in the water, and  chatting. I still miss those moments until now. 

|| Enlightened || 

The trip to Israel has finally dispelled a long-standing confusion for me. I used to  wonder if women, being able to get pregnant, have menstrual cycles, and be influenced  by their physical conditions, are not suitable for working outside efficiently. Although  I felt this shouldn't be the case, I couldn't come up with a good explanation until this  journey. Does living in an unfavorable geographical environment mean one cannot  thrive? I witnessed how Israel, despite facing harsh conditions, stimulated a spirit of  innovation and unity, finding solutions in the desert and amid enemies. As humans,  what sets us apart from other living beings is our ability to think, to find ways to solve problems, to keep progressing, and to ensure everyone, regardless of their race, health,  or gender, can live in peace and prosperity. As humans, we have the right to choose how  we want to live our lives. 

|| Incredo ||  

The most impressive company we visited was Incredo, and they are working on  "Replacing Sugar with Sugar." People love to consume sugar, and it is inexpensive for  manufacturers to add a little more without incurring losses. However, this increased  sugar intake puts a burden on the human body, with about half of India's 1.4 billion  population suffering from diabetes or being at risk of developing it. 

Incredo discovered that 70% to 80% of the sugar is swallowed before it even gets  fully broken down to create its sweet taste. In other words, only 20% to 30% of the  added sugar serves its purpose, while the rest becomes a burden on the body. To address  this issue, Incredo attempts to accelerate the sugar breakdown process by adding certain  minerals. These minerals convert into proteins and do not negatively impact the human  body, thereby allowing a reduction of sugar content by about 30% to 50%. One  significant advantage of this approach is that they do not alter the structure of sugar,  unlike typical sugar substitutes, ensuring that the taste and flavor of food remain  unaffected.

Currently, they are unable to handle liquid foods like sugar in ice cream, but it is under  development. Their current business model is B2B, where they develop suitable sugar  ratios based on recipes and sell the sugar to manufacturers. They avoid B2C  development due to the following reasons: 

1. The sugar market is vast, and introducing their own product would be difficult  to compete. 

2. The individual market is relatively small since people do not consume large  quantities of sugar in their daily lives, but the overall sugar consumption is  substantial. 

They approach the problem from a unique perspective, fundamentally addressing it,  and their out-of-the-box thinking is something we can learn from. 

|| Guns || 

In Israel, some citizens are allowed to carry firearms, such as security guards or  tour guides who have mobile professions. The government permits them to choose to  obtain a license to possess firearms. However, our tour guide chose not to do so, even  though he had been a security guard and carried a firearm in the past. He feared that  encountering certain situations might lead to fear-driven decision-making, making it  difficult for him to strike a balanced response between protecting people and dealing  with suspicious individuals, potentially resulting in unnecessary casualties. I deeply  admire his thoughtful consideration, as he is a very responsible individual, valuing the  lives of others as equally important. This, in my opinion, is the mindset that those who  carry firearms should possess. 

|| Under the Starry Sky || 

During our nights at the Bedouin tents in the Israeli desert, lying under the starry  sky, I could truly relax. As Taiwan was in a different time zone, and the desert often had  no signal for internet usage, it allowed us to genuinely unwind. I could even feel the  shifts in wind direction and speed, experiences I had never had before. 

|| Holocaust Memorial Museum || 

One of the highlights of my trip was visiting the Holocaust Memorial Museum,  which is a reminder of one of humanity's greatest tragedies. The museum  commemorates people with trees because trees can last for a long time, providing shade 

and materials for construction. Symbolically, it represents their desire to pass down  history, transforming faults, pain, and regrets into nourishment for future generations,  guiding people towards a better future. 

"Every person in every situation has a choice." This made me think of the Hong  Kong pro-democracy movement and the Tiananmen Square massacre. Although they  were all humans, even with the duty to follow orders, they still had the power to slightly  change the direction of a gun's barrel. The loss of lives during a massacre is  immeasurable, as those people could have grown up to have children, make  contributions, and become possibilities. 

The Jewish people believe that they should not let themselves or anyone else in  the world experience such events again. Hence, they preserve and pass down this history.  In Israel, both the police and the military visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum  because those individuals carrying weapons must understand what they are fighting  against, whom they are sacrificing for, and the consequences of losing their homeland.  They need to be aware of what abuses of power can lead to. 

At the end of the guided tour, the guide said earnestly, "Please remember, you have  a future." We are part of a generation growing up in the light, not experiencing World  War II or the White Terror, but violence and oppression have not disappeared from the  world. Taiwan's #MeToo movement has been ongoing for a long time, and people still  occasionally jump from the rooftops of National Taiwan University. Each era and each  person face their own difficulties. I truly appreciate the last words the guide left us with:  "The opposite of love is not hatred, it's indifference. The opposite of beauty is not  ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. The  opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." I want to cherish the opportunities in this  life, to be someone with the power of choice and a guiding light.