The Travel & Encounter program of the Holy Land Trust provides travel opportunities of all kinds, for all people. They present the Holy Land in a way that is quite unique, unexplored and uninhibited. The tours can be tailored to the individual or the group. Discover what lies behind the scenes in modern day Palestinian society. There are unparalleled opportunities to become acquainted with local culture and language through the home stay programs and extensive network of NGO affiliates. Through visits to both Palestinian and Israeli communities, sharing meals and candid conversations with local leaders and community members, touring the holy land, and participating in volunteering opportunities, you can discover the beauty of a country rich in culture and history.
An extensive network of partnerships with NGOs, peace activists and political leaders will provide you with unprecedented access to an insider’s understanding of the Holy land.
Since the year 2000, the Travel & Encounter department has rapidly developed a reputation as a reputable organization providing unique and life changing experiences in the Holy Land.
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Holy Land Trust - Travel & Encounter
Dukium - The Forum for Coexistence in the Negev
Arab and Jewish residents of the Negev (the southern part of Israel) established the Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality in 1997. Its aim is to provide a framework for Jewish-Arab collaborative efforts, in the struggle for civil equality and the advancement of mutual tolerance and coexistence. The Forum is composed by a core of 30 volunteer activists, both Arabs and Jews, who dedicate time and effort on a weekly basis to this mission. In addition to this core, there are another two hundred people that join in on selected activities and are continuously updated on issues of interest to the Forum and on the Forum's activities.
Among the members of the Forum are leaders of the Negev Arab community and academics. The Forum is unique in being the only Arab-Jewish organization established in the Negev and that remains focused on the Negev's population specific problems.
The Negev Coexistence Forum considers the State of Israel as responsible for the denial of the full civil rights of the Arabs of the Negev. As a result it has set out as one of its mission to advance civil rights and equality in the Negev. The Forum's activities and projects are based on the principle of Arab-Jewish cooperation.
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Daila
Daila is a unique outreach centre working with the Israeli public and visitors to Israel. Based in Jerusalem, Daila connects progressive and innovative non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and activists. It provides a space that groups and activists can use for public events and relevant activities.Today, the Israeli public is usually subject to restricted and conservative political discourse by politicians and the media. At this crucial time Daila offers instead an alternative intellectual, political and expressive space, in order to construct a more socially committed society.
Daila creates projects for children, youth and adults with a critical viewpoint towards contemporary Israeli surroundings and the mass media. Daila’s open space is available for local independent and alternative bands and artists to present their work.
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Alternative Tourism Group
ATG Alternative Tourism Group and Study Center is a Palestinian NGO based in Beit Sahour specializing in tours and pilgrimages that include critical examinations of the history, culture, and politics of the Holy Land. The organization focuses on Fair Trade in Tourism to support the local community and to offer fact-finding tourists (Academics, Journalists, Church Delegations, Individuals, etc.) an intensive humanitarian tour through Palestine and the Region.
Established in 1995, ATG operates according to the tenets of justice tourism, that is, tourism that holds as its central goals the creation of economic opportunities for the local community, positive cultural exchange between guest and host through one-on-one interaction, the protection of the environment, and political/historical education.
ATG works to encourage all tourism operators to abandon exploitive mass tourism and to adopt practices that positively affect the host population. Through these methods, ATG seeks to promote a positive image of Palestine and its people and to contribute to establishment of a just peace in the area.
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