I'm still pretty busy. I wanted to wait to put up these weekly updates because I worry that as soon as I make a new post, people may miss what is below the top post. (Please check below to make sure you don't miss a post!)
Also, I've added quite a few new photos, so be sure to check those out by clicking on the slideshow at the right.
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PSE Mid-Session Update
The second week of Palestine Summer Encounter Session 2 has now concluded, and the month seems to be moving very quickly! Despite only knowing each other for a few weeks, this has been a very tight-knit group, and it has been difficult to watch a few participants leave Bethlehem early and travel on to other summer commitments. Those who remain, however, have much to keep them occupied as they continue learning and exploring the life in the West Bank.
This week participants enjoyed a guest lecture with George Rishmawi, Executive Director of The Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between People, who spoke on the nonviolent actions of the First Intifada. Additionally, two final Comparative Religions classes on Islam were given, helping to equip participants with a greater understanding of the culture by learning about its principal religion.
For a special cultural night, the PSE participants, along with members of the current Holy Land Trust Home-Rebuilding campaign and HLT and PNN employees, enjoyed a barbeque together at Osh Grab park in Beit Sahour. The barbeque was preceded by a competitive football match, pitting the PSE participants against the HLT/PNN employees. Although it was a tough struggle, the PSErs went down in the match, losing 3-6.
To wrap up the week, the group took a trip to the northern region of the West Bank, visiting Tulkarem district. First was a visit and discussion with the Governor of Tulkarem, which was covered by local news media. This was followed by a tour of parts of the district experiencing an especially difficult impact from Occupation. Participants visited the village of Baqa where residents of the East and West sides of the village can no longer visit each other because of the Apartheid Wall running through the middle of the community, separating families from each other and strangling the economy. The group also visited a site with numerous demolished homes deemed a security threat to the path of the Wall and viewed the toxic Israeli chemical factory placed in the district which has a raised the cancer level of the Palestinian area to the highest anywhere in Israel. After the visit to Tulkarem, the group headed to Jenin where they had the great opportunity to witness a performance by the Al-Harah theatre company from Beit Jala, which has been making a tour with their contact-dance drama Face-hook?! The show, centering around the problems that Palestinian youth face in their society, was performed in the Freedom Theater of the Jenin Refugee Camp, and it was especially meaningful for PSE participants to witness their own Debkah instructor, Said Zarzar, as one of the performers. After the theatre performance, the group briefly spoke with one of the residents of the Camp and then headed back to Bethlehem after a very long and impactful day of exploring the situation in the West Bank.
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Session 2 Week 1 Complete
The first week of a busy Second Session of Palestine Summer Encounter is now complete.
The new participants of Session Two gathered at the Holy Land Trust office Tuesday morning to meet the leaders of the Bethlehem-Area NGOs they will be working with for the coming month or two months. This session, new participants will be serving with numerous organizations: helping run kids’ camps, supervising in childcare, doing administrative work, and providing maintenance support.
New curricula for the second session began with two Comparative Religions courses in Judaism and Islam. These courses are aimed at helping participants gain a better grasp of the cultural and political implications of these important religions on the region. In addition to religion courses and Arabic classes, the participants enjoyed an engaging lecture from Mahmoud Zahwareh, the Director of the Popular Committee Against the Wall in the Bethlehem Area Villages. Mr. Zahwareh shared about the situation in the area villages and his committee’s extensive work in nonviolent resistance. In addition, he invited the PSE participants to join in the resistance by attending the weekly nonviolent protest at al-Ma’sara, an invitation which a number of the participants were glad to accept.
Later in the week, the participants had a great cultural evening learning to prepare the traditional Palestinian dishes of falafel, hummus, and Arabic salad. The staff of Afteem Restaurant welcomed the PSE participants into their facility for the evening, which was full of laughter and good food as the participants learned what goes into making these staples of the Palestinian diet. While enjoying the fruits of their labor, participants also got to enjoy listening to cultural music—the oud accompanied by the singing of a few traditional songs.
To wrap up the first week, the group took a trip to Hebron to explore the unique political situation of the contentious city where violent, ideological settlers live right in the middle of the large, conservative Palestinian population. Meetings with the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee and with Christian Peacemaker Teams in the city provided insight into the difficulties of life created by the presence of the settlers and soldiers there. Additionally, after being detained at a flying checkpoint and escorted by an Israeli Defense Force jeep to the village of At-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills (due to Shabbat security concerns), the group met with Christian Peacemaker Teams and Operation Dove team members along with one village leader of nonviolent resistance in the small community, which has faced continual harassment from settlers of the nearby Ma’on settlement.
This has been a very busy week with lots of information for the participants to take in. The situation has already begun to seem overwhelming to them at times, but in their presence and work here, the PSE participants are providing hope that comes with international solidarity and support of the Palestinians in their struggle for justice.
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