Go To Palestine
It Will Change Your Life
Below are ideas for two basic ways to go to Palestine:
Visiting & Solidarity Work:
1. VISITING
Visiting Palestine is a great way to learn about the situation through first-hand witnessing and hearing directly from Palestinians living under occupation. Below are ideas for both longer and shorter visits:
A. Delegations Most people visit Palestine with a delegation traveling together through Palestine for a week or more. Contact Eyewitness Palestine.
B. Quick Visit or Day-Trip If you’re already in the area and just looking for organizations to facilitate a quick visit, check out the Alternative Travel Options section at the bottom of this page.
2. SOLIDARITY WORK
If you want to be more than just an observer and can stay in Palestine longer, consider how you could be most useful on the ground. Of course, the answer varies depending on your skills.
A. Solidarity Organization in the West Bank Consider working with a solidarity group on the ground accompanying Palestinians, documenting human rights abuses, and/or supporting Palestinian-led popular resistance. A few organizations to check out are:
a. International Women's Peace Service (women only; based in Palestinian village in the north West Bank)
b. International Solidarity Movement (decentralized Palestinian-led nonviolent direct action organization since 2002)
c. Palestine Solidarity Project (Palestinian-led nonviolent direct action organization based in village in the south West Bank)
d. Michigan Peace Team (nonviolent solidarity teams open to people from any state—not just Michigan)
e. Christian Peacemaker Teams (Christians only; based in Hebron Old City and At-Tuwani; presence for more than 10 years)
f. Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel
(focusing living with and accompanying farmers and families)
B. Working on Grassroots Projects There are hundreds of grassroots projects happening throughout Palestine at any given time. For some examples, Grassroots Jerusalem has compiled a network of grassroots organizations in/around the city that one can support or get involved with.
FINAL NOTE: Palestinians welcoming internationals to Palestine tend to ask for one thing in particular: that people return home, share their stories with others, and help build the movement for justice in Palestine from their own countries. Perhaps the most important part of any trip to Palestine is what you do *after* it.
For more info about (1) tapping into the US movement and (2) how to most effectively speak to and organize your community about Palestine once you’re home, click here.
Thank you to Hannah Mermelstein for helping to compile this list.
