Alternative Travel Listing

SABEEL 2012 Trips

Seeking Understanding in Israel/Palestine: A Two-Week Fact Finding Trip
June 2-16, 2012. Organized by Friends of Sabeel-Colorado
Trip description, registration information, leader contact information:
http://www.fosna.org/content/sabeel-colorado-fact-finding-trip-june-2-16-2012

Challenging Oppression, on a Donkey: Christ, Resistance, and Creative Discipleship
July 4-15, 2012 Sabeel's 7th International Young Adult Conference
Program, registration information: http://www.fosna.org/content/sabeels-7th-international-young-adult-conference-july-4-15-2012

Sabeel’s 2012 Fall Witness Visit
Worship, meet and reflect with Palestinian Christians and Muslims, Jewish Israelis, and internationals who partner with Sabeel in non-violent resistance to the illegal occupation and violations of international and humanitarian law. Experience the realities of the Palestinian community living under Israeli Occupation: the Separation Wall, illegal settlements, checkpoints, confiscated and demolished homes, refugee camps, and environmental degradation. Learn about the loss of civil and property rights of Arab Israeli citizens.
Click here for more information. http://fosna.org/content/sabeel-witness-trip-oct-30-nov-8

Christian Peacemaker Teams—2012 Delegations to Palestine/Israel
May 22 – June 4
July 4 - 16
October 2 – 15
November 6 – 19
Christian Peacemaker Teams sends short-term (7-14 day) peacemaker delegations into crisis settings around the world. These delegations link communities experiencing violence with concerned individuals, churches and groups. Delegations offer participants a first-hand experience of CPT's on-the-ground experiment in faith-based, active peacemaking grounded in the transforming power of Gospel nonviolence.  Visit www.cpt.org for complete description and application.

Siraj Center_Nativity Trail: 2012 Tours
May 10 – May 21, October 4 – October 15, October 25 – November 5, November 15 – November 26, December 13 – December 24
Now, 2000 years later, the modern-day city of Bethlehem - home of the Millennium - invites you to make a symbolic and historic journey commemorating that event by walking Palestine's Nativity Trail. The carefully researched route—an 11-day journey—is the first leg of the new Palestine Trail. Walking the Nativity Trail will be an opportunity to meet a diverse range of people: Franciscan priests on Mount Tabor, Muslim clerics at village mosques, Greek Orthodox monks in desert monasteries, hillside farmers and their families, small-town shopkeepers and craftspeople, Bedouin shepherds watering their flocks at ancient cisterns, and many more. For details on trips and registration:
www.sirajcenter.org

Rev. Craig Hunter, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Denton, Texas
May 18 - June 2, 2012
Rev. Hunter will be leading the trip and the pre-trip class. Pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Denton, Texas, he has studied and worked in Israel/Palestine and led similar trips in the past. He is a member of the PC(USA)’s Israel/Palestine Mission Network and has a unique background in the subject.  For more information, contact Rev. Craig Hunter at craig@tpcdenton.org or phone 940-765-2900. Click here to open trip brochure (pdf file).

Siraj Center/Palestinian Summer Celebration 2012
June 17- August 12, 2012
A unique visit to experience life in Palestine first hand, live with a local family, volunteer with a local community organization, travel in Palestine and the Holy Land, meet with speakers, learn Arabic at Bethlehem University, practice preparing Middle Eastern Cuisine and of course learn how to dance Palestinian Folk Dance. •The Palestinian Summer Celebration, everything is optional, means one can choose what they like to do and where they want to live, the price is generated upon ones choices.
•The Palestinian Summer Celebration, provides students with a unique opportunity to learn Arabic at Bethlehem University, and gain a University Transcript that they can use for their universities back in each one country.•The Palestinian Summer Celebration, enables you to meet people not just from Palestine but from all over the world participants. •The Palestinian Summer Celebration, tours all over Palestine and the Holy Land, tours that enables participants to be educated about the ongoing Palestinian Israeli conflict. For more information, http://www.sirajcenter.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&...

2012 tours scheduled by Group Travel Directors (GTD)
For details: www.gtd.org. Click Find a Tour, Middle East.
June 6-20, "Holy Land Study Tour": Led by experienced Holy Land tour leader Dr. Mark Meehl, theology prof at Concordia University, Seward, NE. $4250 from Lincoln (other cities available)." More info: mark.meehl@cune.edu
June 8-19, "In the Footsteps of Jesus: A Holy Land Pilgrimage": Hosted by Pr. Rick Rouse, Beth Lewis, Pr. Ryan Rouse. $3,999 from New York/JFK. More info: prryan@holyspiritlc.org
October 15-25, "In the Footsteps of Jesus: A Holy Land Pilgrimage": Hosted by Pr. Don and Helen Eslinger, Normandale Hylands United Methodist. $3879 from MSP. Contact Janet Tollund at GTD, jtollund@gtd.org
November 1–12, “The Holy Land Including Jordan” with optional Egypt extension. Hosted by Pr. Nick Doversberger, Zoar Evangelical Lutheran. $4030 from Portland, OR (other cities available). Contact Pr. Nick 503-266-4061 ndovers@juno.com or Kate Peer at GTD 800-747-2255 ext 134 kpeer@gtd.org

Interfaith Peacebuilders Delegations to Palestine/Israel
May 19 - June 1, July 14 - July 27, 2012 (African Heritage), Oct. 21 - Nov. 3
Interfaith Peace-Builders fosters a network of informed and active individuals who understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the United States’ political, military, and economic role in it. To build and nurture such a network, we lead diverse delegations to Israel/Palestine. Click here for more information on upcoming delegations. IFPB’s complimentary programs ensure that the US based movement for Israeli-Palestinian peace is rooted in the activism and life-stories of those that live the conflict everyday:
The Delegation Program organizes delegations of people from diverse backgrounds on two-week trips to Israel/Palestine. Delegations emphasize the grassroots voices of Israelis and Palestinians immersed in the reality of the conflict. Participants on IFPB delegations bear witness to the everyday violence of war and occupation and learn from those committed to nonviolent struggle, human rights and peace with justice. IFPB delegations present alternative images and analyses which reach deeper to uncover the roots of Israeli-Palestinian conflict and avenues pointing the way to change and reconciliation. http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/palestineisrael-environment-and-occupation

Canaan Fair Trade
Canaan Insiders Tour, October 25 – November 3 (tentative dates)
Canaan Fair Trade is social entrepreneurship firm dedicated to artisan quality products based in Jenin, Palestine. The company sources its agricultural food products from a network of 49 cooperatives organized in the Palestine Fair Trade Association with the membership of over 1700 farm families. Our Insider Tours bring you to Palestine to meet and work with Palestinians on their land. Run Across Palestine is an ultra marathon to raise funds and awareness for the fair trade olive farmers of Palestine, planting trees and providing scholarships for children of olive farmers. The purpose is to help re-establish sustainable olive growing practices in Palestine, whose history, economy, culture and identity is rooted in the ancient olive tree. The Insiders Tour will tour beautiful Palestine, and include farmer stays, olive picking, and the Harvest Festival. For details and registration visit: www.canaanusa.com

Religious Diversity In Israel and Palestine
June 12–25, 2012
Co-led by Dr. Paul Parker, Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Elmhurst College, and Dr. Pauline Coffman, Middle East Task Force of Chicago Presbytery, this trip will hear from religious leaders of six groups: Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Druze, Bahai, and Samaritan. An important part of their message will include their experience of the political situation. Our local travel agent is Siraj Travel of Beit Sahour. Join Dr. Coffman and Dr. Parker to: discover the religious diversity of Israel and Palestine; explore the impact of political conflict on religious practice; consider religious resources for a just resolution of the political conflict.Contact Pauline Coffman: p.coffman@sbcglobal.net for more information. Dowload trip flyer (pdf file).

ICAHD 2012 Home Rebuilding Summer Camp
July 1-16, 2012
Each year, Israelis and internationals work with Palestinians to rebuild a demolished Palestinian home, explore the issues of occupation, and meet with a wide range of the most influential peace activists. This is a two-week, hands-on crash course in P/I advocacy. The intent is that participants return to their communities as visible, knowledgeable, effective advocates. This year's camp is especially important because the camp headquarters for ten years, Beit Arabiya, was recently demolished for the fifth time. The camp application and detailed information about the camp are available at http://icahdusa.org/projects/summer-camp/. The cost ($1,750) does not include airfare from the US. There will be some partial scholarship money available for full-time students. Please consider, as individuals or organizations, recruiting and/or sponsoring a camper in 2012. As core activities, ICAHD: Monitors, protests, and publicizes demolition and expropriation of Palestinian homes and land; Advocates through the bureaucracy for homeowners faced with demolition
Conducts "alternative" tours within Israel and the West Bank; Produces analyses of Israeli politics and occupation; Provides speakers for peace and justice conferences and events; Participates in international tribunals and meetings, including the Russell Tribunal and United Nations. REBUILDS A DEMOLISHED PALESTINIAN HOME. For more information, please contact Esther Nelson -- ehnelson0620@yahoo.com or 503 341-2755.

Pilgrims of Ibillin Israel/Palestine "Living Stones" Pilgrimage
October 31 - November 13, 2012
this fall! This trip is a listening tour: we will visit Holy Sites and “Living Stones” in Israel/Palestine. Meet Pilgrims of Ibillin’s partners in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Zababdeh, and Ibillin. Hear from leaders and organizations in the West Bank and Israel who are seeking a nonviolent path to peace. Cost: $1,600/person, double occupancy -- plus lunches, and airfare ($1202 for New York to Tel Aviv, plus cost of connecting flight to New York). Insurance is also strongly encouraged. (Single Supplement, $400.00). Leader: Rev. Joan Deming, Pilgrims of Ibillin Development Director. Goals of the Trip:  • Visit key biblical sites in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and the Galilee (including Nazareth), and learn why the Holy Land is known as “the Fifth Gospel.” Share daily in worship and reflection on all we see and hear.
• Experience Palestinian hospitality, especially during a home-¬‐stay in Zababdeh. • Get to know students and leaders at Mar Elias Educational Institutions in Ibillin. Visit with MEEI founder and peace activist Archbishop Elias Chacour (if his schedule permits). With a native of Biram, visit the destroyed village where Abuna Chacour was born and lived until 1948. • Be equipped to give presentations after returning home. Learn to share the story of new friends – Christians, Muslims, Jews, and Druze – who live with hope and work for peace despite great challenges. Questions: contact Joan Deming at 241-9281 or jdeming7@gmail.com! Full brochure and registration materials available online at http://tinyurl.com/7m25ttk. For more information on Pilgrims of Ibillin, visit www.pilgrimsofibillin.org.

Women's Witness Trip
November 8 - 17, 2012
Women committed to justice and peace in Palestine-Israel are planning a fall pilgrimage to the holy sites and to walk and talk with women who are struggling to make peaceful lives for themselves, their children and their neighbor’s children. We are activists, chaplains, scholars, teachers, and women of prayer. We are lay and clergy. We have each participated in witness trips and pilgrimages that have changed our lives. Our hope is to ‘delve deeper’ into our witness and conversations with other women in Palestine-Israel and in own communities. After numerous conversations among us and with other friends, we are coordinating a witness trip by women for women, for both first-time and November 8 - 17, 201. Go to this link for complete program and registration information, contact, and to download the trip flyer: http://www.fosna.org/content/womens-witness-trip-nov-8-17-2012

In the Footsteps of Jesus: An Alternative Tour to Palestine and Israel
January 25 - February 4, 2013
Hosted by Jeff & Janet Wright
Alternative (responsible) travel seeks to transform curious tourists into informed pilgrims by engaging the people who live in the land — and the history, culture and social realities that shape their lives. As the tour title suggests, many of the first-century conditions that shaped Jesus' life and ministry continue to shape the lives of Palestinians and Israelis today. In addition to exploring the holy stones — the historic places and sites that have defined our faith — participants will engage the Living Stones: Jews, Muslims and Christians who live in the land.Past tour participants have rated the tour experience very highly. Cost of the tour (based on twenty participants and excluding airfare) is $1,760. For draft itinerary and registration information, go to: www.footstepsofjesustour.org
 

Other Alternative Travel Opportunities

Crossing Borders
These custom-created travel experiences to Israel and Palestine feature visits to Biblical and historical sites along with meetings and dialogue with various local community leaders and members, especially among Christian Palestinians. For further details, contact either the tour leader or Crossing Borders, 800-990-6811, 952-995-9585, info@crossingborders.com

Holy Land Trust_Travel & Encounter
Travel & Encounter offers you the opportunity to interact with grass root Palestinian organizations, listen to stories, experience the reality of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, serve the local community, and become a force in the movement to work for peace and justice in the Holy Land in the way that you see as best. For detailed information on schedules and trip description, visit the travel and encounter pages at www.holylandtrust.org.

The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) brings internationals to the West Bank to experience life under occupation. Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs) provide protective presence to vulnerable communities, monitor and report human rights abuses and support Palestinians and Israelis working together for peace. When they return home, EAs campaign for a just and peaceful resolution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict through an end to the occupation, respect for international law and implementation of UN resolutions. See application information for accompanier from the United States: http://www.eappi.org/en/get-involved/become-ea/united-states/application-information-for-the-us.html

Bright Stars of Bethlehem:
Ensuring that Christianity Survive and Thrives in the Middle East
Bright Stars offers many excellent tours of the Holy Land, detailed on its Events & Trips Calendar. Visit: www.brightstarsbethlehem.org

Green Olive Tours is a social enterprise in Palestine/Israel that conducts year-round ongoing tours of the entire country. The tours visit religious and historical sites, and also visit Palestinian villages, refugee camps, artisans, farmers, and settlements. Itineraries are designed to expose participants to the impact of Israel's ongoing Occupation, and gain an understanding of the complexities of the reality on the ground. Home-stays are offered with Palestinian Christians and Muslims, and with Israelis. Day-tours cater to Independent travelers through daily trips to all the major areas of the West Bank and Israel. Multi-day tours offer a complete experience and depart on a weekly basis. 4-day, 7-day, and 10 day tours depart on a weekly basis. Pilgrimage Study Tours enable people of faith to experience the footsteps of Jesus while exploring the contemporary social dynamic of Palestinian Christian life. Special itineraries can be created for pre-organized groups. Contact Fred Schlomka, Green Olive Tours Director. Visit the website at www.greenolivetours.com. Tel: (612) 276-2077. In Jerusalem: +972-2-569-5095

Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) Pilgrimages
HCEF carries out a Living Stones Pilgrimage Program that brings Christians to the Holy Land to get to know the Holy Land Christians (the Living Stones) by sharing their daily lives, culture, obstacles and faith. Meeting and connecting with the Living Stones of the Holy Land can educate pastors and the faithful about their Mother Church in a personal way. All pilgrimages are coordinated with the local churches. To organize a pilgrimage or join one of the pilgrimages listed above (based on availability), or want more information, contact: Gail Freeman, Pilgrimage Coordinator toll free - 866-871-4234 or by Email - gfreeman@hcef.org

Jerusalem Wilderness
The Gardens of Batir: Walk in the green hills and olive groves around the ancient village of Batir. Explore the Sufi lodges, Ottoman shrines, and irrigated gardens of the old center. Stay for lunch with a family, sample the fabulous local produce, and learn the story of Batir’s long struggle to retain its land and its identity as an historic Palestinian town.
The Monastery in the Desert: Explore the ancient monastery of Mar Saba, hidden in a remote canyon above the shores of the Dead Sea. Hike south, across the desert, and arrive on foot at Tel al Qamar – the Hill of the Moon – for a firelight feast under the stars.
Sunrise Over the Dead Sea: Hike one of the most pristine and spectacular canyons in the Jerusalem wilderness. Share food and stories with the family of Hajj Ali in his tents at Rashaydeh. Watch the desert sunrise over the distant hills of the Dead Sea.
For dates and more information: www.jerusalemwilderness.com

Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD.org)
ICAHD's individualized group tours present a critical Israel view of the Occupation and Israel`s long-term policies and political intentions. After giving your group an overview of the political situation by use of maps, we take you to see the settlementsin the Jerusalem area (including Palestinian neighborhoods being taken over by Israeli settlers), the “Separation Barrier,` Wall, the separate Israeli roads that connect to Jewish settlements while isolating Palestinian neighborhoods, stopping at sites where Palestinian homes have been demolished. Through our tours you will gain a wide perspective on the social, cultural, political and historical issues that underlie the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. To book a tour contact our Tour Coordinator. Suliman Khader: Mobile: 972-(0)52-5216551 or 972-(0)54-4285026; Office: 972-(0)2-6245560; Fax: 972-(0)2-622-1530 Email: icahdtours@gmail.com Web: icahd.org Cost: For individuals, ICAHD’s alternative tours of East Jerusalem, departing in Jerusalem from the ICAHD office (14 King George Street, 1st floor), cost 100 NIS per person including transportation. For groups of more than 8, the cost is 500 shekels ($140) for the entire group without transportation; with transportation an additional fee is charged depending on the size of the group.

Birthright Unplugged is an education and movement building organization that offers two travel programs in Palestine and supports justice organizing work largely in the United States. Check their website for information on the next scheduled trip: http://birthrightunplugged.org/ or email info@birthrightunplugged.org

Experience Travel Tours
Tours scheduled every spring and fall. Experience Travel Tours (ETT) specializes in issue-based tours taking participants to places difficult to access on one’s own. This study tour facilitates a way for people to see several historic and beautiful places in what has been known for centuries as The Holy Land and cherished by Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, but now torn apart by tragedy. Travel will take us through several different geographical areas as we visit the Judean Desert, the Mediterranean Sea, mountainous areas, the Jordan valley and the plains. Participants meet with local people and hear their stories. Our aim is to help to bring understanding of the nature
of the Occupation and what must be done to achieve a just and sustainable peace for all people groups. http://rediscoveringpalestine.org.uk
Contact info: Pam Martin - assistant to tour leader Linda Ramsden
Experience Travel Tours
PO Box 539, Dorking RH4 9FU, England
Tel for Pam: 01235 764754
Email: info@experiencetraveltours.org

An-Najah National University, International Summer Camp
Join us at An-Najah National University (Nablus, West Bank) in our International Summer Work Camp “Global Palestine”. This program has been designed to bring 40 individuals from around the world to Palestine in order to foster relationships, exchange skills and ideas, and progress cultural exchange in an academic setting. The International Summer Camp will bring together people from around the world who are interested in experiencing the unique place and people of Palestine. Our goal is to host volunteers interested in the Middle East. We strongly encourage motivated and serious men and women to apply. For more information, please visit:
http://youth.zajel.org/summer_camps/
For the information packet and application form, please contact: youthexchange@najah.edu or zajel.camp@gmail.com