Visit Palestine and see for yourself
JVL Introduction
Everyone who has been to Palestine has found it to be a transformative experience, one that no amount of reading can fully replace. We encourage all who are able to go to do so. Excellent tours are also organised regularly through The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) , which also links with the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network . Here is information about the Mental Health Study Tour organised by them in October. Through this network, JVL was able to link with the Gaza Mental Health Foundation and an activist from Dheisheh Refugee Camp to learn more about the impact of living under occupation and to highlight the forgotten refugees – Palestinians. The impact is severe, to quote from a Save The Children Report “Four out of five children in the Gaza Strip suffer from depression, sadness and fear caused by fifteen years of the Israeli blockade on the territory”. If you are interested in mental health, and you do not need to be a mental health practitioner to participate, this may be your access to life on the ground in Palestine’s West Bank.
This article was originally published by UK-Palestine Mental Health Network. Read the original here.
Mental Health Study Tour to Palestine October 2022
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We were hoping to visit Palestine on a tour before Covid happened. Is there anyone offering recommended general-interest tours now?
ICAHD is doing another Autumn tour, which may suit and there are others.
I would love to go but I assume I would be immediately deported from Israel . I regularly post against Israel and I do question the legitimacy of a state that only exists because ethnic cleansing. I know the Mossad monitor people like me and I make no secret of my real name. What are other peoples experience?
If you are thinking about a visit to Palestine, do not hesitate, it’s a wonderful if sometimes infuriating experience. Contact ‘The Friends of Hebron’ who should be able to arrange for someone to guide you, possibly Issa Amro from ‘Youth Against Settlements’ who lives in Hebron. https://www.friendsofhebron.com
If you need a place to stay, you can book a room at: https://www.secours-catholique.org/the-abrahams-house-in-jerusalem, all creeds and colours are welcome. It is in East Jerusalem with a great view over the city.
And how would you get there without flying? it would be a l….o….n…g journey.
Nick, you might also try the Amos Trust. I haven’t travelled with them but have a good impression of them. David, I know what you mean. I’ve been twice, via Ben Gurion, but based in Bethlehem and Galilee. Getting in and out of Israel, and crossing through the checkpoints, were daunting experiences, with lots of probing questions, and emptying of luggage, similar to entering the Soviet Union in the old days, but I was never denied entry. It helped that I was obviously a tourist and a pilgrim. My keffiyeh raised some interest, but I explained truly that I was going into the desert and needed it. This was a while ago and of course it may be more difficult now.
I posted a comment about Travel2Palestine being a good organisation organising trips to Israel/Palestine a little while ago but I have noticed that it has not been added to the comments.
Could you let me know why?
This is strange – our apologies; am posting this comment and here is the link to find out more about their tours: https://travel2palestine.org/