June 11^th - Our first morning in Tel Aviv, we headed to the neighborhood of Shapira, which has long been a poor and ethnically diverse area of the city.  With a local resident of Shapira we walked around the streets, met people from the Mizrahi Jewish and African migrant communities.  We met a group of young Israeli students and recent graduates, who told us about their backgrounds and about the question of military service in Israel.   Some of them refused to serve and were even jailed.

 The next day, we were guided by Jaffa historian and community leader Sami Abu Shahadeh.   We explored the story of a Palestinian city that was transformed by the birth of Israel.  In Jaffa’s old town we met Arab residents who can still remember the events of the mid-20^th century.

The whole experience was very thought provoking and we learned a lot from it.

Our guide was excellent and i hope our relationship with him was just as enjoyable for him.

We can never hope to fully understand the position of everyday life for Palestinians but we certainly saw something of it, particularly with the way in which we, and everyone else, was treated by the Israeli authorities when the Pope was in town!

Being under curfew was certainly a new experience for us!

 The Greek hostel was fine although we did enjoy our visits out in the evening to sample the local restaurants.

The Christoph Jungen Swiss Group arrived on Sunday, March 30^th, and had their first tour and meeting in Neve Shalom.  The following morning, the Group were driven along the Mediterranean coast between Tel Aviv and Haifa, where they had the opportunity to visit the ancient port city Caesarea Maritima, which was built by Herod the Great, and today is a national park.  In the afternoon, the Group had the chance to visit the lookout at Muhraka, which is located on the southern end of the Mount Carmel range.  The views of the Mediterranean Sea captivated the visitors.  Overnight was in Nazareth. 

 The morning of April 1^st, there was a short visit to the Nazareth Church.  Following, the participants visited Sephoria’s archeological site, located in the central Galilee, 6 kilometers north-northwest of Nazareth.  The site holds a rich and diverse historical and architectural legacy that includes Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Islamic influences. It is believed to be the birthplace of Mary, the mother of Jesus.  For dinner and overnight, the participants stayed at the Mt. of Beatitudes, where it is said that Jesus gave his important Sermon on the mountain.  

We are so grateful to each of you at Siraj for providing and working with us for a superb Yeaney Family Holy Land Tour Experience.

 The responses from our group have been many such as: "life changing," "now I understand much better the situation," "we met so many wonderful people," "swimming in the Dead Sea and riding a camel was 'cool',"  "I learned so much." "Dr Mazen was the perfect person to set the stage as we began our time together," "the Sights and Sounds of the Holy Land and walking the walks of Jesus remain with us.

 The Yeaney group has returned home to the San Francisco Bay Area with full hearts and so many new understandings.  

Greetings! We are writing to you from Bethlehem in the Occupied West Bank where we successfully arrived this afternoon. Our journey began together Saturday morning at Lancaster Theological Seminary. We first travelled to Newark International Airport, for our ten hour direct flight to Tel Aviv, with close to a four-hour delay we ended up in the plane for almost 12 hours. Needless to say when we arrived in Tel Aviv we were more than ready to leave the plane and walk. After a successful custom entry process we met our Guide and proceeded to Bethlehem to the Holy Family Hotel.  Once we settled into our rooms it was a temptation to lay down and rest after almost 30 hrs travel time, but the group managed to keep the scheduled meeting for a late lunch and a short orientation. We then got on the stop for our first visit to the Wi’am Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center (Wi’am means Agape in Arabic).

A multinational delegation walked the entire Nativity Trail from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  The delegation started with a day tour in Nazareth, visiting the Church of Annunciation, the House of Mary, and the Sea of Galilee.

The group then began their walk from Faqua’a, heading south across the West Bank through the towns of  Zababdeh, Fara’a camp, Nablus, Duma, Ain Auja, Jericho, Nabi Musa and Mar Saba.

From 16/7/2013 to 26/7/2013

Seven students from Brazil came to Palestine from 16/7/2013 to 26/7/2013 to experience Palestine and to share the daily life of Palestinians.

They started their tour in Jerusalem, then moved onto Duma and kufurMalek and they stayed overnight there with local families which was a great chance for them to live the daily life and share their food. Next, they moved to Bethlehem, passed by Hebron, and at last visited the Negev.

From 15/6/2013 to 29/6/2013

The group signed-up for a ‘listening’ tour through which the participants wanted to learn about the issues and contemporary lives of Palestinians and Israelis by meeting persons who are members of the different religious communities, i.e., Christians, Muslims, Jews, Samaritans, Druze, and Baha'i.

The tour began in Jerusalem.  After that, the group visited Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus, Nazareth, Majdal Shams, and finally Haifa.

A group of institutions from Dubai, whoare supporters  of human rights, had a walking tour in Palestine.Theiraim was to provide material and moral support for the Hope Flowers School, and to know more about the political and social situation in Palestine.

 They walked from Awarta to Aqraba, then moved to KufurMalek, Taybeh, and Jericho and ended their trip in Bethlehem with a tour in the old city and a visit to the Nativity Church.

On their final night in the Bethlehem area, the group enjoyed a traditional dinner and dabkadance at a local restaurant.

A multi-national delegation hiked along the Nativity trial beginning at Nazareth, where they toured the Church of the Annunciation and the House of Mary.

The hike took them from Faqua’a through Zababdeh, Fara’a camp, Nablus, Duma, AinAuja, Jericho, Nabi Musa and Mar Saba. During their journey the group stayed with local families and learned a lot about Palestine’s culture and everyday life, and enjoyed the local food and landscape.