Tour Highlights
• Kiryat Arba Settlement• Tel Rumeida
• Abraham's Tomb and Mosque
• The Old City
• Palestinian organization
• Lunch in a Palestinian family home
Tour Details
| Every Tuesday & Sunday | |
| Length of Tour: | 8 hours |
| Tel Aviv Departure: | 6.30 am - HaYarkon 48 Hostel (map) |
| Jerusalem Departure | 8.30 am - YMCA, King David Street (map) |
| Return | 4.30 pm to Jerusalem - 6 pm to Tel Aviv |
| Cost: | From Jerusalem 335 NIS/Shekels From Tel Aviv 460 NIS/Shekels |
| Lunch not included • 35-shekel lunch payment direct to family • Passport needed | |
Detailed Description
This is a highly political and critical tour of the Israeli and Palestinian areas of Hebron. If we have 3-6 people then there will be a Palestinian guide ONLY. If we have 7 or more people, then there will be an Israeli and a Palestinian guide, The Israeli guides are Partners of the Green Olive Collective, will provide background and analysis throughout the trip, and enable access to settler areas. In Hebron the group will also spend time with a local Palestinian guide.En route from Jerusalem through the Gush Etzion settlement block, the guide will explain the history and current status of these Israeli communities, considered illegal under international law.
Hebron is the only city in the West Bank that has a large part of it (20%) still under direct Israeli control, and is the only urban Palestinian area with Jewish settlements in its old city center. 170,000 Palestinians and over 600 settlers live in Hebron. Hundreds of soldiers and policemen are in charge of protecting the settlers, and enforcing an odd mix of Israeli and military law. As a result, Hebron is one of the epicenters of the Occupation.
A briefing about the history of the conflict and Hebron in particular will be given by your guide on the way from Jerusalem. If an Israeli guide is with the group, then the tour will enter the settlement of Kiryat Arba, on the edge of Hebron. Palestinian guides are not permitted to enter. The visit will include Baruch Goldstein's tomb, part of the Meir Kahana tourism park in Kiryat Arba. Baruch Goldstein was an Israeli (Jewish) physician who in 1994 murdered 29 Muslims and wounded 125 during prayer in the Issac Hall at Abraham's Tomb. Kiryat Arba is a rapidly growing settlement suburb of Hebron with about 8,000 Jewish residents.
In Hebron you'll visit the Abraham’s Tomb (Me'arat Hamachpela / Al-haram Al-Ibrahimi), and have the opportunity to enter both the Mosque on the Muslim side, and the synagogue on the Jewish side. The site has been divided since the Goldstein massacre, and you’ll encounter several security checks. Make sure you have your passport.
Shuhada Street
You'll take a walk down Shuhada street and the old city market, once a bustling Palestinian market street, now with shuttered shops, welded-shut doorways and deserted roads. This was an outcome of IDF restrictions, as part of the principle of segregation and separation, which guides Israeli security perception in the city. You'll see the settlers' compounds and the military base and checkpoints along the route connecting them.You'll transfer to a Palestinian guide in order to enter the Palestinian market area. Your Israeli guide may not enter since Israeli Jews are forbidden by the IDF from entering the market.
The Israeli guide will try and engage a local Jewish/Israeli resident/settler in order to provide an opportunity to have a discussion with the group.
If there's time, then there will be a visit to one of the Palestinian or international organisations, such as, Youth Against Settlements, or Christian Peacemaker's Team, to learn first-hand the experiences of the local Palestinians with the settlers, and their non-violent struggle against the settlers and Israeli security forces.
Hebron is a religious city, and we ask you to respect it by dressing appropriately. The rule of thumb is that the only skin that should be showing is the face, lower arms, and hands. Basically no shorts for men or women - trousers (pants) are best for men and women - shirts closed to the neck and over the shoulders –
______________________
This tour is modelled on the tour conducted by 'Breaking the Silence’ (BtS), an organization of former Israeli soldiers. BtS was founded in 2004, and is an organisation of veteran Israeli combatants who have served in the IDF since the start of the Second Intifada. Their primary goal is to expose the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories. BtS endeavours to stimulate public debate about the moral price paid for the reality of the Occupation
