2010 is Underway!
It’s summertime in Bethlehem, and the Holy Land Trust office is abuzz with activity. A considerable part of that activity is due to the recent arrival of 17 internationals, participants in the 7th Palestine Summer Encounter. This session includes participants from the U.S., Canada, Germany, the U.K., Switzerland, and Australia.
Palestine Summer Encounter (PSE) is a joint project between Middle East Fellowship, a U.S. based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and Holy Land Trust. The three-month program is divided into three Sessions with participants able to stay for one, two, or all three months, dedicating their entire summer to experiencing life in Palestine. In the course of the program, participants will study Arabic in and outside of a classroom setting as they meet with teachers at Bethlehem Bible College for classes in the day and then return every night to their Palestinian host families, living in Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and Beit Sahour. Additionally, each participant will volunteer with a nonprofit in the Bethlehem area, and the group will meet with a variety of Israeli and Palestinian NGOs and peacemakers, gaining a broad perspective of how Israeli Occupation influences Palestinian life.
Participants gathered one week and a half ago to start their summer journeys. Programming kicked off with orientation at the HLT office followed by a bus tour around Bethlehem to give participants their bearings in their new home for the summer. Over the weekend, between the naps to acclimate to their new time zone, the group took a trip to Jerusalem, visiting the numerous holy sites of the city in the morning and then meeting with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) for a tour of what Occupation looks like on the ground in Occupied East Jerusalem.
As the week began, participants began their volunteer placements: working on fair trade, translating documents into English, writing news stories, newsletters, and proposals for funding, and caring for children, the elderly, and disabled. The participants received an academic perspective on the situation Occupation has created in the West Bank and heard of the history and present nonviolent movements of resistance in Palestine from professor, activist, and author Mazen Qumsiyeh. On Friday, many of the participants took the initiative to attend a nonviolent demonstration in the South of Bethlehem village of al Mas’ara where they observed and participated in nonviolent resistance firsthand. Programming also included a conversation with HLT Director, Sami Awad, about the history and vision of HLT and the current state of conflict in Palestine, a hike by Solomon’s Pools and through the village of Artas, and the first weekly Debkah (Palestinian traditional folk dance) class.
To finish out their first whirlwind week, participants travelled to the Northern West Bank, visiting Ramallah, Bil’in, and Nablus. In Ramallah, the group took in a very informative presentation by Stop the Wall, visited Yasser Arafat’s tomb, and had a chance to explore the nightlife of the city. In Bil’in, the group met with the leader of the village Committee of Popular Resistance which has been organizing one of the most widely known and attended protests in the West Bank for more than four years. And, in Nablus the group met with a refugee of Balata Refugee Camp, the largest camp in the West Bank, to hear what life is like with 25,000 people living in 1 square kilometer. After the refugee camp, things were a bit lighter with a tour of the Old City, including a stop at an olive oil soap factory, and then a visit with a Samaritan High Priest in the Samaritan village outside the city.
For more information on Palestine Summer Encounter, visit the website to follow participants in their own words as they encounter Palestine: http://www.palestinesummer.org/blog.
