Palestinian Law, Human Rights, & Palestinian Refugees Internships

I came to The Excellence Center to get a better understanding of the conflict with Israel and explore the West Bank. The experiences I got here more than lived up to my expectations.
I was at the center for one month, where I took Arabic lessons, took tours the Center gave. The tours at the Center gave an immersive experience on what it is like to live in Hebron. We took trips to the Building of Commerce, and the Municipality building in Hebron. There we learned about how the city operated to get the basic needs of their people met, and the difficulties they face trying to accomplish that.
We also visited the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque. During the tour we got to see the inside of the beautiful mosque and learn about its history. The mosque is home to the tomb of Abraham and the site of the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, that forever changed Hebron.
Going on the tours and talking to people here you get an unparallel experience on how the Israel occupation affects the Palestinian people. The occupation has affected many facets of their everyday life such as, the wall in Bethlehem completely segregating the West Bank off, to the travel restrictions, and the loss of personal freedoms.
The Arabic lessons were pact full of information that you could immediately use right after the lesson. Living in an area where Arabic is primarily spoken gives you plenty of time to practice and learn more Arabic. I learned how to read and write the numbers, letters, and many words and phrases that are useful in everyday life. My teacher for my Arabic lessons was great. He spoke very good English and was able to communicate how to properly pronounce Arabic words and give there meaning. I could ask him anything on how to say certain words or phrases or just ask him about how to get around Hebron.
My time at the excellence center was well spent. The people you meet here are amazing and each has their own story to tell. Being here was a great place to travel and to better my Arabic.

This internship included a number of tasks and experiences that gave me extraordinary educational and professional development. As an intern I would be dually focused on teaching English to clients of the Excellence Center but that I would also be taking Arabic classes. For the first week and a half I was only doing trips and tours, walking around with a teacher named Isaac, who guided us through a lot of the more famous parts of Hebron. I began intensive Arabic classes, starting at 8:30 am in the morning until around noon, then I help out with any of the English classes going on at the moment. The internship brought me into a world that cultivated lifelong friendships, provided professional skills, and provoked a desire to return to that region and work there.

My name is Lizi. I am from England and am currently studying a Master Degree in Sustainable Development and Disaster Management in Newcastle. I have been at The Excellence Centre for 1 month and have completed the internship program.

During my time at the center, I have been living with a host family in a village called Bait Ommar. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the family and will be keeping in contact with them after I leave Palestine. Staying with a host family really allowed me to get a deeper insight into the Palestinian culture, as well as helping me gain some life long friends. The family showed me things I would never have seen without them, such as local weddings, less travelled locations and family traditions. They were warm, welcoming, generous, hospitable and lovely people. The village itself was beautiful too and have a pleasant contrast to the busier city life of Hebron.

My first week at the center consisted of 5 one to one Arabic classes with my teacher Abraham, which each lasted around 3 hours. These classes were enjoyable and informative. I found Abraham was a good teacher and very easy to get along with. He also gave me the opportunity to steer the lessons into whichever areas were of main interest to me which was great. For example, I wanted to focus on conversational/spoken Arabic more so than writing and reading, so most of the lessons were arranged and personalised around this.

The second week during the internship was my favourite week. During this week, Abrahim (a different Abrahim!) guided and arranged several tours around hebron. We visited Hebron Old City, Rumeida and Shuhada Street, Al-ibrahimi Mosque, Alfawar refugee camp and The Chamber of Commerce. As I was the only one on the internship, the tours were just for him and myself, however we invited the other volunteers and each trip we had a relatively large group accompanying us. Abrahim was a great guide during the trips. He made them very educational and answered any questions we had for him as well as telling us some of his own personal experiences and opinions. It was both sad and shocking to hear the things he has seen, and to hear a monologue from someone who has lived through the stages of this conflict has been invaluable.

I did visit several places independently from the centre also. For example, my host family took me to Bethlehem, Jericho, The Dead Sea, Ramallah and Neblus. Also, alone, I visited Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. I had always thought of England as a small country and so it was amazing for me to see just how small Palestine is. The short distances made it easy to travel and I am grateful to the centre and my host family, as in a short time I have been able to see a majority of the beautiful major cities, each with its own unique qualities (for example, nablus is the leader for Knaffa!)

The third week of my internship began with a presentation given by Abraham in teaching techniques with the purpose of preparing me for my final week of teaching. This was very useful and educational. The following day, I was asked to make a presentation of my own stating some ideas I had for future lesson plans. This was challenging as I am not a natural public speaker however the staff were very supportive and warmly welcomed my ideas.

For my final week, I assisted Abraham in teaching his class. The class were at beginner level, so Abrahim would explain the content to them, and I would then write and speak the answers in English. The class were very eager to learn and very grateful and receptive to both their native and international teachers. I found that their attitudes to learning were much more positive than the average UK student and it was a pleasure to work with them in my final week. One of the highlights with this class was the food day! Each student would bring in a delicious dish, give a presentation in English of how they made it, and then everybody would be welcomed to join and share the food together. It was a lovely atmosphere.

Finally, I will end on a point I feel is very important. Did I feel safe in Palestine? I will admit that before leaving, I was nervous to enter the Palestinian territories. I had never met any Palestinians, and most of my knowledge of the place at present was coming from the media. This is the same for most people in Europe, and so I also had friends and family warning me to be careful and even begging me not to go! I can now say in all honestly that I have never felt safer in a country as I have in Palestine. Palestinians are good people. They take pride in their culture, community and generosity. They are always looking to help internationals or if you do not need help, they will want to invite you in for tea and food regardless! I love this country and its people, and I think it's so important that people know the real Palestine, and not the one portrayed in the eyes of the western media.

On leaving Palestine, I wish to go home and complete my studies to hopefully go on to work as an NGO specializing in refugee crisises. I would recommend the excellence center to anyone. I have learnt so much here, and met so many amazing people. I will always keep the Palestinians in my heart after I have left, and will make sure to spread the word of their good nature in my home country. All I can hope is that I will be able to return to this amazing country again some day.

My motivation to come to Palestine was mostly political and in part from cultural curiosity which I have had as I study anthropology. It was my dream to live with Muslim people and see how they spend their daily lives, while Palestine has been the most attractive destination among other Arab countries because of my political interest. I have read good amounts of books on Palestinian-Israeli conflict and my image of staying in Palestine was, not that I was thinking here is dangerous, which is totally incorrect, but that it can be hard and I would probably face harsh realities. In short, I imagined Palestine as a place with its specificity.

My assumption was partly true. I got to hear bunch of sad stories and those examples showed me that people living here are suffering daily from things I already knew from the books. When we have conversations, they suddenly jump into the topic of the occupation, sometimes even do not intend to, and they show me subtle, but clear anger for what they are talking about. Then they switch to brighter topics or daily conversations and the shadow I felt inside their voice disappears. Whenever you hear each of the story, I assure you will feel so depressed that you need to stay away from it for a little moment.

At the same time, contrary to what most of the people in the world who never visited Palestine think, which was kind of same for me before, these people are having daily lives as normal as people do in other parts of the world. It is stupid enough to inform you, “Hey, there is a life in Palestine. People are living there just like us”. Honestly, though, I have never watched media, which introduce the aspect of Palestinian culture and life. Everything is about the conflict, the violence and the number of deaths. It makes the image of Palestine ugly and prevents people from coming here. Because of that, I needed some time to tell my parents that I was going to apply for this program. How political it is. How we are not aware of it! I assume this situation on media or whatever information available for people are more or less same in other countries.

I cannot even summarize what I have got from this experience because it was not just knowledge on its culture and the politic, but it was something alive which I can see and feel from people and Hebron itself. Culturally, it was an amazing opportunity to live with my host family, through which I got to know their way of thinking as Muslims and as Palestinians. I cannot think of anything better than spending time with them throughout this whole month. If there was much space here, I would write about their hospitality, willingness to teach me Arabic and supports on everything. Politically, I found it much more difficult to solve the problem since I had a closer look on the situation, while at the same time, it motivated me to think of any possibility to work for it in the future. The situation must be changed.

Marhaba! My name is Connor Israel and I am a twenty-year-old International Studies and Arabic student from Texas A&M University. I am currently wrapping up my two months of participating in the Internship in Palestine program with the Excellence Center. I came to Palestine in order to improve my Arabic language skills, learn about the situation under Israeli occupation and most importantly to make personal connections to this place that is so often the subject of diminutive headlines. All of those desires have been fulfilled through my time with the Excellence Center and I am so thankful for the opportunity I was able to have here in Hebron.
Through two weeks of intensive and personalized Arabic classes with my incredible teacher Isaac (!شكرا كتير) I was introduced to the local dialect and given valuable study materials that I have worked through during the rest of my time here. The most important improvement I have seen in my Arabic skills is definitely a vastly greater comfort in speaking the language. Upon arriving, I was apprehensive about using the language, but through meeting new friends both in the center and around the city, I was able to gain confidence as I learned more and more each day. As an international volunteer at the center, I would say that the Arabic classes and practical experience you gain by being here are the most valuable skills I have gained.
I also came to Hebron because I was fascinated with the political situation in Palestine. Seeing the checkpoints and settlements with my own eyes has given me a perspective on the occupation that is based on witnessing it not merely hearing about it through the media. I have had countless conversations with amazing Palestinians about the hardships they have faced their whole lives due to the Israeli military. I have been honored to drink coffee and talk with so many brave individuals who still fight for peace and freedom despite all of the obstacles they face. If you are at all interested in learning more about the Palestinian situation, spending time in Hebron will provide you with so much perspective and understanding which you could never gain from simply reading about the conflict.
Lastly, and most memorably, the relationships I have made here will stay with me for the rest of my life. The staff at the center are warm and welcoming and they have shown me the best parts of Palestinian society, their immense hospitality. I have had conversations with people on the street who are just interested in welcoming me to their homes. I have been offered coffee and tea more times than I can count. I was also able to meet many other international volunteers from all over the world who have become dear friends in my short time here.
The Excellence Center is a place where stimulating conversation is abundant and I will always be thankful for my two short months here in Hebron!

My experience at the excellence center was very fulfilling, it was my first time in an Arab country and it could not have been better, I met many locals, saw almost everything to see in Hebron, and I had a lot of very useful information on the situation of this country. I owe all that to the excellence center who planned visits and meetings with local figures. So I would definitely recommend the volunteer program in Hebron.

Whether you are looking to learn some Arabic, improve your Arabic, or simply explore Palestine, this is the perfect programme for anyone with a modicum of interest in Palestinian life. Hebron has a reputation as being one of the tensest cities in the world. As soon as you enter the Old City however, walking past the abundance of fruits, olives and nuts in the markets, you will be welcomed into the city like a long-lost relative.
I have spent one month working at the centre on the Internship program. In this time, I have been schooled in Arabic, been taken on tours throughout Hebron and the West Bank, and made friends for life. Even for non-speakers, the programme will give you a good grasp of conversational Arabic, which will be extremely useful if you plan on being a regular visitor to the Middle East and the Arab world.

I would wholeheartedly recommend you to apply to become an intern at the Excellence Center.

I love the Excellence Center. It helps local Palestinians learn English and gives international volunteers a chance to experience Palestinian culture and hospitality. It is a good way to see the occupation first hand and support people living under apartheid. You will makes friends for a life time, while improving your Arabic and teaching skills. I highly recommend anyone joining the Palestine Excellence Center.