Israel visit came at turbulent time

Connor Flocks, a student at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, picked a historic week to travel to Israel.

The former University of Arkansas, Fayetteville student body president arrived Monday, one hour before the dedication of the new American Embassy in Jerusalem.

He knew there was trouble as soon as he was able to establish an Internet connection.

The BBC headline stated: “Deadliest clashes in weeks as nine Palestinians killed by Israeli troops ahead of new US Jerusalem embassy ceremony.”

The death toll, Flocks noted in an email, was ultimately far higher.

Some counts put it at 60 or higher.

While the embassy dedication angered many Palestinians, it was welcomed by many Israelis.

Flocks said he passed banners reading “Trump is a Friend of Zion” and “Trump Make Israel great.” American flags were also fluttering along the roadway as he passed.

He also encountered people wearing “Make America Great Again” hats, he noted.

Flocks, who is from Greenwood, will be working this summer with a company called MassChallenge. “It’s a nonprofit startup accelerator that delivers curriculum, mentorship, and funding in a competition based platform to early stage high-impact startup businesses in the region,” he wrote. “My project is simply completing an internship where I will help them run the program and conduct real-time surveys to ensure [programming] meets the needs of the 52 companies that are participating in their program this summer.”