8th, March 2013
More photos of their program
The Joint Advocacy Initiative organized a 4-day trip for the YMCA-YWCA Norway. Fifty staff members arrived at night in Beit Sahour. Few hours later they were given a lecture from UN OCHA about the environmental and geopolitical situation in Palestine. After a briefing about the JAI advocacy work, campaigns and programs the group moved for a guided tour around Bethlehem to see the wall, settlements, confiscated land and to meet a farmer of the Olive Tree Campaign on his field, and see the campaign planted trees. In the evening, they were briefed and updated about the Kairos Palestine by the JAI manager.
On the second day the group went through the Bethlehem Israeli checkpoint to Jerusalem. In two sub-groups they had a guided tour in the old city and a guided tour with Israeli Committee Against House Demolition (ICAHD). On the old city-tour they witnessed the settlements in the Palestinian neighbourhood as well as the place in front of the Western Wall. To build this place, a lot of Palestinian houses were demolished. On the ICAHD tour the group received a good overview of the settlements surrounding Jerusalem and the threatened Palestinian neighbourhood outside the walled city. Afterwards they went to the YWCA headquarter and heard a presentation about their work as well as a lecture from Angela Godfrey-Goldstein.
On the third day the group could choose between different programmes. Some of them went to Jericho and some to Ramallah or to different places.
The last day the group had a geopolitical presentation on the closures-settlements-checkpoints-attacks and situation in Hebron by the TIPH (Temporary International Presence in Hebron), followed by a guided tour in the old city to witness the above, and the Ibrahimi mosque.
Even tough it was a short trip the participants received a good and important overview of the situation in Palestine.