Stories from Palestine

25/09/2023

Three years ago on this day I interviewed Palestinian American comedian Amer Zahr for Stories from Palestine podcast! That was one of my first podcast episodes. And now three years later I published well beyond hundred episodes and still going although much less frequently because of the study pressure!

Listen back to the episode with Amer:

https://storiesfrompalestine.buzzsprout.com/1297634/5614927-interview-with-palestinian-american-comedian-amer-zahr

14/09/2023

Yesterday I did a private tour with Jan Willem from the Netherlands. We started at hostel with Palestinian breakfast: kaek and falafel!

We went to the Shepherds fields in Beit Sahour, Battir village (Unesco World Heritage site), Deheisheh refugee camp and we saw the wall that cuts right into Bethlehem at Rachel's tomb.

Jan Willem was very interested in the geo-political reality and asked a lot of questions! He is traveling around for three weeks and he really enjoys the Palestinian kindness and hospitality.

He told me that after our trip he went to the Walled off Hotel/ Banksy's museum and he was very emotional after this day of being confronted with so much injustice and harsh life for Palestinians under military and colonial rule.

If you are interested in a private guided tour, get in touch!

12/09/2023

Today excursion with the Palestinian tour guide union to Ain Fawar and Ain Fasayel. Amazing explanation by tour guide Sami in Arabic and English.

Ain Fawar is a pulse spring: inside the limestone rocks a natural cave fills up with rain water forming an aquifer and a natural crack that forms a siphon fills up the pool outside.

The water flows down canals that were made 2000 years ago to bring water to Herod's palace near Jericho. And after a while the pool fills up again by the spring water.

Ain Fasayel is north of Jericho in the desert, a natural spring that comes from between the limestone rocks and in winter there are flash floods in this area.

11/09/2023

Today at the Sea of Galilee where Jesus lived and taught for three years. We visited Capernaum where he stayed in the house of Peter. We visited several churches commemorating the Sermon on the Mount, the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, the meeting with the disciples on the lake and the hometown of Mary Magdalene. We also saw a 2000 year old fisher boat that was found on the shore of the lake in 1985 during a drought.

A beautiful tour!

If you are interested in a private day trip to these sites, get in touch!

09/09/2023

Opportunity to join a tour to Hebron and Battir with licensed tour guide Saleem Anfous on Monday! Departing from Bethlehem. Get in touch if you are interested! ↙️

Palestine Through my eyes

09/09/2023

One spot available for a female participant for the ten days Visit Palestine program in October with Saleem and Kristel!

Based on double occupation of a bedroom in a family guesthouse with another female.

During this trip you will travel around the Westbank, Jerusalem and Jaffa with licensed tour guides Saleem and Kristel. They will introduce you to the history, geology, heritage and geo-political reality of Palestine!

Come join us for a day of olive picking, stay two nights with local families, eat amazing Palestinian food and meet incredible resilient people.

Send us your email if you want to receive more detailed information!! Don't hesitate!!

08/09/2023

Back to work after holidays. Today I took six American volunteers who are spending a longer period of time in Palestine on a discovery and learning trip in Bethlehem. One of our visits was to Deheisheh refugee camp where artist took us on a learning tour in the camp.

Check out his work on .designs

Palestinian refugees were forcibly displaced in 1948. They were never allowed to return to their homes after the State of Israel was created. There are a total of 58 recognized Palestinian refugee camps, 8 in the Gaza strip, 19 in the Westbank and the rest in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

There are 3 refugee camps in Bethlehem, Deheisheh refugee camp is the biggest with about 12000 Palestinian refugees (til the fourth generation)

Deheisheh refugee camp is situated in Area A, supposedly under full Palestinian authority control. But still the Israeli army invades regularly at night.

Oftentimes they shoot at young men, purposely at their knees, to make them handicapped. This year already 12 young men in Deheisheh refugee camp were killed by the Israeli army.

We met a father of four young children who suffer from anxiety and trauma because of the attacks of Israeli soldiers.

This is a Google translation of the poem on the wall (third photo), if anyone has corrections please let me know.

The martyr's dream is the nightmare of the regime, just as the martyr's nightmare is the disappearance of dreams. Therefore, the authority repels its double nightmare, with ideas that repel dreams and turns the time of the martyr into a nightmare. Thus, libraries are established to eradicate dreams, and the dreamers’ obsessions remain distributed in the void, with no libraries in them.

06/09/2023

Ex- Mossad chief Tamir Pardo says it loud!

“There is an apartheid state here,” Tamir Pardo said in an interview. “In a territory where two people are judged under two legal systems, that is an apartheid state.”

Pardo said that as Mossad chief, he repeatedly warned Netanyahu that he needed to decide what Israel's borders were, or risk the destruction of a state for the Jews.

***

01/09/2023

Last day of our vacation celebrated with a bottle of Arak by

Palestinian Arak! If you want to know more about this artisanal Arak, listen to the podcast episode! Find it on your favorite podcast player under Stories from Palestine podcast: "Palestinian Arak distillery Muaddi"

29/08/2023

Found during my vacation in the Netherlands! Solidarity from my hometown!! ✌🏼

13/08/2023

I would like everyone to know about this fantastic music program in Palestine run by and with close involvement of my dear friend Fabienne.

This is very important work with music and children, so much needed in Palestine!
For the soul.

Please consider clicking the link in the bio and making a donation!!

13/08/2023

I would like everyone to know about this fantastic music program in Palestine run by Musicians Without Borders and with close involvement of my dear friend Fabienne Van Eck

This is very important work with music and children, so much needed in Palestine!
For the soul.

Please consider clicking the link and making a donation!!

Help us purchasing music instruments so more children can join our program Bara’em Ghirass and practice at home. Thank you for your support

12/08/2023

Just to let you know that I am aware of the fact that I have disappointed some of my listeners in recent months with only a few new episodes. But honestly I don't have time! Studying the tour guide program in Jerusalem is very very intense.

I am going on a very needed holiday and then back to the last part of my journey to become a full fletched licensed tour guide!

Thank you for following me!

10/08/2023

Today in Tel Aviv

07/08/2023

Today I was with a Dutch family in Bethlehem and lucky for us we were invited to join my tour guide friend Mo to a special opening of the grotto/ chapel of the innocents. This chapel is dedicated to the children that died in Bethlehem according to the Bible book of Matthew as ordered by Herod the Great.

Although most of the human remains seem to be of older persons and very likely of monks who were buried under the church.

The icon of the killing of the innocents is very impressive.

And of course we had

30/07/2023

Today we were in Megiddo or in Arabic Tel el Mutaselim, the Mount of the Governor.

This archaeological site is situated in Marj bin Amer, the Jezreel valley. It was inhabited from the neolithic period until the Persian period (6000 BCE until around 300 BCE)

Its location on the crossroads of the Via Maris, international trade route between Egypt and Syria, and the Road of the Patriarchs over the mountain ridge, made it extremely important strategically.

They have excavated around 30 levels of civilizations, including temples, palaces, walls, gates, silos, stables and a large water system (tunnel) that gave access to water in times of siege.

Many Jews and Christians believe this will be the place of the final battle between good and evil, based on biblical texts.

If you want to learn more, go back to the podcast episode, I will add the link in the link tree, click in bio!

28/07/2023

Tamir Pardo says Israeli government is in the grip of 'extreme lunatics' and 'horrible racists' who are 'a lot worse' than US white supremacist group

28/07/2023

Palestine to Iraq overland mail service departing from The First Station in Jerusalem.

27/07/2023

To anyone who says Palestine doesn't exist, I opened an account at the Bank Of PALESTINE!! ⁉️

18/07/2023

On one of the hottest days of the year I took a group of Dutch students to the old city of Jerusalem to explore ancient history and today's reality. We found some relief in the shade of trees and under the street level of today in the ancient cisterns under the Sisters of Zion Convent.

We had falafel, Arabic coffee and tea with mint and we tried simsimia.

We visited the Aqsa mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and a great view point from the roofs of the meat market.

If you are interested in a guided tour in Jerusalem, contact me privately!

13/07/2023

Volunteer in Palestine with Echlas, a Palestinian woman in a wheelchair with muscular dystrophy.

Volunteers needed from the end of July for three months!

"I really need someone to assist me for a three month period so that it will be easier to get settled in with a new wheelchair."

"While you are living with me in Palestine you will learn: Arabic and about daily life in a Palestinian refugee camp, you will get to know Palestinian dishes as well as how to cook them. Besides, you will receive a monthly pocket money of 200€.

If you want to know more, please get in touch with me!"

~ Echlas speaks English!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/echlas_alazza

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/echlas.alazza

Email: [email protected]
Website: https://eiplc.wordpress.com/

08/07/2023

We are half way our registration for the October program in Palestine! If you want to join us (Saleem and Kristel) don't wait to register! Small groups max 12 people.

We will visit different sites in Bethlehem, Battir, Jerusalem, Jericho, Ramallah, Abud Jaffa and Nablus (if feasible)

We also have a full day of olive picking on the program and a stay with families in Abud.

For more information check out the website and request the pdf with detailed information if you are interested!! Send us your email address.

https://storiesfrompalestine.info/travel-to-palestine/

06/07/2023

Dear reader,

This is the last time I am ever going to write this kind of post. After 11 years at +972 Magazine, almost four of which I spent as editor-in-chief, I am hanging up my hat and moving on to different pastures. I wish I could say that I was writing to you, and preparing to transition, under better circumstances, as things in Israel-Palestine are growing more worrisome by the day.

With army-backed Israeli settler pogroms becoming a regularity throughout the occupied West Bank, new settler outposts being established almost every day, and the latest Israeli army invasion into Jenin harkening back to the darkest days of the Second Intifada; with Palestinian citizens of Israel caught between skyrocketing local gun violence on one hand and a government that wants to bring back the military rule of the 1950s on the other; and with the government’s attempt to overhaul the judiciary still very much on the table — this is a moment of deep crisis in Israel-Palestine, and we need your back.

For 11 years at +972, I’ve helped to tell the stories of the people who, like all those who struggle for justice, liberation, and freedom in Israel-Palestine, refuse to give in to hopelessness and despair. Even as I prepare to move on, their voices need to be leveraged. I have also had the honor of working alongside editors and reporters here at +972, who bring that fight to their work every single day. That work needs to continue — and to pay for it, we need your support.

Our journalists are on the frontlines, often facing police or settler violence, making sure you get the best reporting and finest up-to-date analysis from inside the struggle for true democracy between the river and the sea. They can do so because thousands of +972 Magazine readers choose to support our work. If you are not already one of them — now is the time to join!

Become a member with a monthly contribution here: https://www.972mag.com/members/?=top_button

Yours in solidarity,�
Edo Konrad
Editor-in-Chief

05/07/2023

The best podcast to learn about the shaping of the Palestinian identity is the Preoccupation podcast: a not so short history of Palestine!

And in order to produce a new season of this fantastic podcast we need some people to support the producer, Bassam Abuanadi, to create new content and buy new books!

He studies all the books, he breaks the history into easy to digest episodes and it's very useful for your own understanding and in your conversation with people who don't know much about Palestine!

Please do a donation!!

PreOccupation needs your help! I have put together a hefty reading list for season 3, a… Bassam Abun-Nadi needs your support for Fundraising For Season 3

04/07/2023

Five generations of Palestinians fighting against expulsion ...

03/07/2023

Special visitor today. Roberto is from El Salvador. From his mother's side he is Palestinian. They came from Bethlehem, the Hazboun family.

In the early 20th century many Palestinians, especially Christians from Bethlehem area, left to escape the Ottoman army conscription and also to find a better life by trading in olive wood and mother of pearl souvenirs from the Holy Land.

They generally were successful and many of them have thriving businesses. They made local women and they had children and now there are many South Americans with Palestinian ancestry in countries like Chile, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador.

They have clubs and they share their love for Arabic food and heritage.

Today Roberto visited Bethlehem for the first time. He was very happy to see the big sign of Hazboun Sweets, his family name! He met with the famous fashion designer Nadya Hazboun (Hazbounova cause her mom is Czech) who may be a far far cousin!! They looked at the family tree together and they discovered many common relative names!!

We tried local food, visited the Church of Nativity where Roberto took some of his mother's rosary prayer beads to be blessed.

And they connected to the
Diaspora and Studies research center to dive deeper into the family history and heritage.

Beautiful day ☀️

❤️🤍🖤💚

03/07/2023

Ten points if you can guess what this is!!

02/07/2023

Despite facing the challenges of being blind, Maher has always had a deep passion for music and has honed his skills over the years.

Now, he wants to take his musical talent to the next level and earn a Master's degree from one of the most prestigious institutions in the world.

However, he is facing two major obstacles - the high cost of tuition fees and SOAS’ offer which is expiring mid July.

So this is how we can all help by chipping in a little bit so that he can do this!!!

Help Maher's musical dreams - donate now to support his MA studies at SOAS London! معا لنساعد الموسيقي الكفيف المتميز ماهر الشافعي بدراسة الماجستير

29/06/2023

It was very beautiful and quiet yesterday in the Nativity Church in Bethlehem! We didn't have to wait in any line to visit the cave of the nativity.

You may have imagined the story of Jesus' birth in a wooden stable, but that's really a Western imagination.

The first church built over the location of Jesus' birth place dates to the 4th century and there are even 3rd century written accounts pointing to a cave as the location of the nativity story.

It's an old tradition of veneration at this site. The cave has become the crypt under the main apse of the church. It is visited by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every year.

And yesterday we had the cave to ourselves! A much more serene experience.

For private tours in Bethlehem, contact me privately!

27/06/2023

Mondoweiss is my number one choice of news source on Palestine. Check out their Facebook and Instagram accounts and sign up for the newsletter. https://mondoweiss.net/

They are in dire need of financial support to keep doing their amazing job. If you want to support and / or share please do!

Direct link to donation page:
https://mondoweiss.kindful.com/?campaign=1260937

Independent news & analysis on Palestine, Israel, US Politics and the global movement for Palestinian rights.

26/06/2023

Exploring Bethlehem and understanding the history and geo-political reality with a lovely family from the United States.

If you need a licensed tour guide in Bethlehem you can send me a message!

25/06/2023

You can now register for our ten days program in Palestine in October!

This program from 9 to 20 October includes a day of olive picking. You will also spend a night with a Palestinian family in Abud!

We will explore the history, holy sites, nature, culture, heritage and understand the geo-political reality in its geographical context.

For more information click the link in the bio! You can request the pdf file with detailed information by sending us your email address.

We work with small groups so make sure to sign up before we are fully booked.

Saleem and Kristel are licensed tour guides by the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism.

25/06/2023

In the year 1900 the Palestine Exploration Fund did a survey of Palestine and they marked the level of the Dead Sea at that time on a rock, as they were in a boat. Since then the level of the Dead Sea sank with 48 meters. Today the level is 427 meters below sea level.

The Palestine Exploration Fund was established in 1865 by a group of British academics and clergymen. Its original mission statement was to promote research into the archaeology and history, manners and customs and culture, topography, geology and natural sciences of biblical Palestine and the Levant.