Tour Highlights
• Palestinian village
- meet farmers
• Traditional lunch with Bedouin hosts
• Help communities in need
• Separation Wall
• Settlements
• Jordan Valley
Tour Details
| Thursday, 19 December 2019 - one day only! |
| 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: | 4.30pm to Jerusalem - 6pm to Tel Aviv | ||
| Cost: | From Jerusalem 250 NIS/Shekels - REDUCED PRICE (covering our costs only) From Tel Aviv 385 NIS/Shekels - REDUCED PRICE (covering our costs only) |
||
| Price includes a traditional lunch. Please bring your passport and wear modest clothing. | |||
Detailed Description
The history of the modern states of the Middle East has not been kind to the once nomadic Bedouin. Borders and increased development make it impossible to move their herds of sheep, goats and camels to the best watering spots and in today's Jordan Valley most live close to the poverty line, without political rights or representation.
This tour will bring you to meet some of these people as we make our annual distribution of solar powered lights to communities in need. Most Bedouin in this area are not connected to power, water or sewage infrastructure so we hope our lights can make a real difference here. Throughout the year, every time someone buys a lamp from our fair trade website, MadeinPeace.com, we donate a lamp. It's not to late to buy another one or two before the trip! This year there have also been an increase in attacks on livestock by hyenas and wild dogs, so included in your ticket price is a contribution towards several high powered torches which we have bought to help scare the animals away.
The tour will begin in Jerusalem, and on your way north you'll pass through the huge suburban settlement of Pizgat Ze'ev (pop. 50,000+) checkpoints, sections of the Separation Wall. Just 10 minutes from the Center of Jerusalem, the differences between the rights of Jewish-Israelis in the settlement of Pizgat Ze'ev and the Muslim residents of the neighbouring Palestinian village of Hizma is quite profound. Your guide will elaborate on this.
Going
north from Jerusalem past the fringes of the Judean desert on the right,
you'll see a mix of Palestinian villages and Israeli settlements,
including the communities of Ofra, Ein Yabrud, Turmas Aya, and Shilo,
the site of Biblical Hebrew settlements and also modern day religious
Zionists.
In
the Central West Bank, Just past Shilo is the hilltop settlement of
Ma'ale Levona, overlooking the Palestinian village of Luban e-Sharkiya
in the valley. You'll stop there for tea with a Palestinian farmer whose
family are custodians of an old Ottoman guest house with adjacent
Spring at the bottom of Wadi (valley) Amuriya. With your guide
translating you'll hear stories of the troubles that the family and
their neighbors have gone through in trying to cope with their unruly
neighbours in the settlements.
At this point we will head east into the Jordan Valley. The scenery is beautiful as we descend into the desert. Once at the village of Khirbet Mak-Hul you will meet the locals, hear their stories of endurance in the face of Occupation, and deliver our gifts. The Sheik (tribal leader) Abu Alsabre will welcome you all and a traditional home booked lunch will be provided here. We will all eat together under the glow of lamp light!
Although
the tour also passes through breathtaking scenery and visits some
historical sites, this excursion is very political with critical
analysis of Israel's West Bank settlements and their impact on the
Palestinian population.
We will return to Jerusalem via route 90 and then route 1, and if it is clear you will have views of the Mount of Temptation and the Dead Sea in the distance.
