Liebe Interessierte,
Leider müssen wir aufgrund der Corona-Pandemie, unsere Reisen und Aufbaucamps vorläufig absagen.
Visit Palestine/Israel on an Extended Study Tour that will change your life
2020 2-12 November 2020
No amount of reading, attending lectures or watching films can convey a genuine understanding of the facts on the ground compared to being there.
ICAHD and the international chapters in the UK, USA, Finland and Germany recommend these study tours that are grounded in ICAHD analysis. They offer unique time with Dr Jeff Halper, ICAHD’s Founder, who sets the scene by describing the current reality in Palestine/Israel within its historical and political context.
Jeff Halper explains Israel’s Matrix of Control over the Palestinians
Participants will visit Palestinians dealing with all the constraints and the suffering brought about from living under Israel’s Occupation and Apartheid policies:
- the demolition of their homes and loss of lands
- deliberate impoverishment,
- the inability to move freely
- issues of water discrimination
- child imprisonment
- the psychological impact of generations existing under violent military occupation
- as well as issues of women’s rights, traumatised families and refugees.
As Jeff Halper explains, “The tour is not merely a litany of suffering; it is inspiring. You will meet people who refuse to give in, Palestinians who are sumud -steadfast- and who resist their oppression in a myriad of ways. You will also meet their Israeli partners working to end the Occupation, both politically and “on the ground.” And you will explore ways to resolve the conflict that are just, workable and creative, enabling you to return home as a strong advocate for peace in your own community.”
These itineraries are individual, developed over nearly twenty years and come with hundreds of recommendations from people world-wide. The tours provide engagement with inspiring Palestinians and Israelis and meeting them will change your life. Travel south into the Negev, through different areas in the West Bank, north into the Galilee and along the Mediterranean coastline.
“Excellent selection of organisations and we valued the opportunity to travel within the West Bank and Israel to different locations. Information sharing throughout was excellent and the amount of learning and knowledge gathering was immense.”
A & A Cross, March 2018
Accommodation is in Bethlehem, East Jerusalem and Nazareth. Travel is by our own private comfortable coach with an expert local driver from a licensed bus company. The group is kept to a maximum of 18 participants.
The cost of the tour includes the full tour programme staying at good three-star hotels at half-board (bed, breakfast and evening meal), sharing a twin-bedded room with ensuite facilities, guidance from the tour leader, other day-guides and tips. Flights, lunches and travel insurance are not included. An additional supplement is available for single room accommodation by request. An application form must be completed, and a reference is sought. When participation is confirmed, a £300 non-refundable deposit is required. A comprehensive information packet for the tour is provided which includes the full itinerary and details about all aspects of the tour. Personal guidance is provided for each study tour participant.
2-12 November 2020 – £1230 +£290 for those requiring the single supplement
For information and an application form contact extendedtours@icahd.org
Comments by two November 2018 study tour participants
When retired Tribunal Judge Penny Wood applied to participate in the November 2018 Study Tour to Palestine/Israel, she wrote that she wanted to go to that part of the world because she’d never been there before. She is not a member of any organisation campaigning on the Palestine issue, but she is interested in helping fight injustice, so she wanted to hear directly from people living there about what life is like and what they want and will accept for the future.
Following the tour, Penny said that what she had been left with, apart from greatly increased knowledge about the Palestinian situation, is admiration for the Palestinians who continue to battle on, despite their lack of freedom and the invidious and unremitting discrimination they suffer daily in what is a virtually apartheid state. “They have had to do this for so many years and must feel forgotten by the rest of the world a lot of the time. But I shall not forget.”
Penny went on to say, “I learnt so much from this tour and I would highly recommend it to anyone, be they knowledgeable about, or largely ignorant of, the Palestinian situation. The visits to a wide range of organisations and individual Palestinians enabled me to gain at least some understanding of the reality of life for the Palestinians, be they in East Jerusalem, Palestinian villages or refugee camps. I would never have been able to gain that understanding without going on this tour, however many books I read.”
Another study tour participant, David Grybowski from Australia, summarized some of the issues covered. “There is everyday harassment like night-time home invasions by the IDF or police; tear gassing of school yards; random closure or go-slow at checkpoints (some of which has resulted in mothers giving birth in waiting line-ups); random inspection of identification and permits; denial of access to agricultural land; destruction of olive groves; and jailing without due law processes. All of this is designed to degrade Palestinian life and open more land for Jewish settlement. I have been an eyewitness or heard testimony to these things. They are not rogue actions by extremists – they are State-aligned actions to fulfil Zionist objectives.”
For information and an application form contact extendedtours@icahd.org
Examples of what extended study tours participants will see in 2019
(Photos by Stephen Sizer)
