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Departing at: 8.30am (08.30)
Returning at: 11.30am (11.30)
Departure Location: Ambassador Hotel, East Jerusalem
Every Monday
Cost: 170 shekels ($50)
Learn about the facts on the ground in East Jerusalem. Visit settlements and Palestinian neighborhoods. This tour is intended for anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, to go a little beyond the 'Them and Us' discourse, and to learn from a guide who has in-depth knowledge of the issues and an alternative perspective.
Tour participants meet at the Ambasador Hotel in East jerusalem and receive a half-hour briefing before going out on the tour.
The tour travels up the seam line road dividing east and west Jerusalem, past the settlement neighborhood of French Hill, turning onto Route 1 then the route 443 settler road, passing several settlements. Route 443 slices through the western side of the Palestinian Beit Hanina neighborhood where house demolitions are a common occurrance. Passing the main checkpoint into Jerusalem the tour continues to the forbidding Kalandia Checkpoint, the only 'legal' way that Palestinians with permits can enter Jerusalem. The adjacent 8-meter high concrete separation barrier divided the neighborhoods or Kufr Akab and Ar-Ram.
From there the bus travels through the Palestinian neighborhoods or Ar-Ram and Beit Hanina to the largest Jerusalem settlement, Pizgat Za'ev. seeing the adjacent refugee camp. From there the tour continues on settler roads to Ma'ale Adumin, one of the largest settlements (pop. 35,000) in the West Bank. The bus will enter Ma'aleh Adumim, visit the outlying outposts of the town, and learn about the displacement of the local Jahalin Bedouin.
From there the tour returns towards Jerusalem on Route 1 seeing the segregated Palestinian roads that eventually will enable the Israeli government to deny access to the 'Israeli only' settler roads. Then the bus will go up to the settlement of Ma'ale Zietim on the Mount of Olives, and travel the ancient Jerusalem/Jericho road to Separation Barrier at Abu Dis in East Jerusalem. From there the tour will visit Jebel Mukaber and Silwan, and pass the City of David to the Ras el Amud neighborhood, driving through Sur Bahair to the fortress-like settlement of Har Homa before returning to Central Jerusalem.
Throughout the tour your guide will give descriptions and analysis of the impact of the Jewish settlements on the nearby Palestinian neighborhoods, and place the discourse within the context of the re-framing briefing provided during the first part of the tour.
There will be opportunities for questions and discussion during the tour. Be prepared for many of your preconceptions about the conflict to be challenged.
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