There are many travel companies that offer travel to the Holy Land to see the religious and historical sites. Not all such opportunities also provide exposure to both the Israeli and the Palestinian perspectives. The following is a listing of travel companies that expose travellers to people on the ground and to Israel and Palestianian groups and organizations that work together with their counterparts on “the other side” towards an equitable and just solution.
Some Israel/Palestine Tours of Interest:
- Mejdi Tours This tour company is associated with Churches for Middle East Peace and specializes in providing a dual-narrative experience. It’s the travel company that UUCA used for its 2019 tour of Israel/Palestine and was featured in the Smithsonian Magazine article about Holy Land travel.
- Eyewitness Palestine In travelling with this non-profict to Israel/Palestine, you will connect with Palestinian and Israeli peace-builders. As the organization states: “There’s only one way to truly understand the realities of Palestine/Israel – through the eyes of those who live there.” (UUCA’ers Bud Hensgen and Tracey Rogers have been on their tours.)
- Meet the Middle East This educational and travel organization specializes in small groups that personalize the experience. As they state: “Meet the Middle East customizes and prioritizes our participant’s experiences over everything, insuring a life changing journey.” (UUCA’ers Chris and John Sutton took one of their tours.)
- Siraj Center This is a local Palestinian non-profit based near Bethlehem and associated with the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement between People. (UUCA’er Allan Kellum took a Quaker-sponsored tour in 2018 that was partly organized by Siraj.)
- Alternative Tourism Group (ATG)- Study Center
- Indiana Center for Middle East Peace (ICMEP)
- Friends of Sabeel North America
- Grace Tours
- In the Footsteps of Jesus
- Joint Advocacy Initiative (This is a YMCA project of the two Jerusalem YMCA’s — East and West, one predominantly Arab and the other mainly Jewish.)
- Life Illuminated Holy Land Travel
- Pilgrims of Ibillin Living Stone Pilgrimage
- Tree of Life Educational Fund Journeys
- Wi’am Cultural and Educational Tours
Be More Than a Tourist; Be an Accompanier
Two organizations that need dedicated volunteers to reside in a conflict area for weeks or months at a time and serve as witnesses and accompaniers to help protect children going to school and others in the population who are vulnerable to attack are Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) and the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI).
The Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) work with local peacemakers at their invitation to help lower the risks of injury and death that they face by waging nonviolent direct action to confront systems of violence and oppression.
CPT work includes:
- Accompanying our partners as they work nonviolently to defend their rights and communities.
- Advocacy: amplifying the stories and voices of those experiencing violent oppression.
- Human rights observation and reporting.
- Solidarity networking: partnering with individuals and organizations to work toward change.
CPT understands violence to be rooted in systemic structures of oppression and is “committed to undoing oppressions, starting within our own lives and in the practices of our organization”.
Curtis Bell, UUJME’s national president, spent several months in 2019 as a CPT accompanier in Hebron, the West Bank’s largest city. This video presentation summarizes his experience:
Some 1,800 Ecumenical Accompaniers have participated in this World Council of Churches’ program! Learn more at: EAPPI