Second Week Wrap-Up

The second week of this summer’s Palestine Summer Encounter program has wrapped up, and we are on to the third. In the past week, participants have had exciting opportunities to encounter Palestinian nonviolent resistance, follow international headlines from right where they are happening, and continue expanding their understanding of Palestinian culture.

To begin the week, participants learned more about what it means to be flexible here when the attack on the Gaza aid flotilla occurred. As Palestinians organized all over the West Bank and Gaza, along with internationals here and abroad in their own communities, to protest the grievous violations of the Israeli military toward the Flotilla humanitarians, program activities were suspended giving PSErs the chance to observe and participate in these nonviolent protests if they chose. A number of participants took to the streets with Palestinians and other members of the international community to cry out against the attacks and the continuing illegal siege of Gaza.

The rest of the week continued as planned, though participants were keenly aware of the sparked political atmosphere—discussing politics with their coworkers at their volunteer placements, reviewing the recent events with their host families, and holding conversations amongst themselves about the meaning of the Israeli attacks.

Through the week, participants had an opportunity to meet with Nidal Abu Zuluf, one of the authors of the Kairos Palestine document, calling on Christians worldwide to take a stand for justice with the Palestinians against Occupation. For a cultural evening, participants were joined by a few staff of Holy Land Trust and Palestine News Network as they traveled to the Tent of Nations, a farm south of Bethlehem surrounded by illegal Israeli settlements. The Nasser family who owns the farm has been stuck in a legal battle in Israeli courts for decades, trying to hold on to their family lands, yet they continue to resist whole-heartedly and peacefully, through pursuing legal means and by turning their property into a collective space for peacemaking and cultural understanding. The group enjoyed a meal at the Tent around a campfire, accompanied by traditional Palestinian folk music—oud and tableh.

Before kicking off the weekend, participants attended a final lecture, hearing an overview of Islamic faith and holding a hard-hitting conversation with Abdul Rahman Abbad, a notable Islamic scholar of the region, on many of the negative perceptions held by Westerners regarding Islamic faith and practice. After the lecture, many participants headed off to the village of Bil'in to participate in the weekly demonstration there, having learned about the struggle of the people of the village against Israel’s land-grabbing “Separation Barrier” the previous week during a visit with the leader of the Committee of Popular Resistance. These participated to varying degrees in the protest, some standing back and observing, while others went forward and experienced the violent responses of the Israeli “Defense” Force, which included confronting much tear gas. Taking a break before going home to Bethlehem, the group went to another Ramallah-District village, Taybeh, and enjoyed a tour of “the only microbrewery in the Middle East,” which of course included some free beer samples.

To wind down the action-packed week, the group took a brief tour of the Wall in Bethlehem, taking note of much of the beautiful and clever artwork, and then headed down to Jericho and the Dead Sea for an afternoon of relaxation, floating, and mud-coating.

This has been a week for participants to learn a lot, not just in the classrooms, but out on the streets and in the fields of Palestine. The budding activists among the group had opportunities to call out with numerous others passionate about justice in Palestine, and everyone had the opportunity to witness firsthand what the Western world never hears about—the continuous Palestinian nonviolent resistance to illegal, inhumane Occupation.

For more information on Palestine Summer Encounter, visit the website to follow participants in their own words as they encounter Palestine.