The Excellence Center Reviews

This program gives you the best of both worlds - an oportunity to meet and live with Palestinians, and learn Arabic at a personalised level. This deepens the connection with Hebron and it's people that you will find is made from the moment you reach the city. The Excellence Centre is full of caring, protective staff who will help you engage with the Palestinian experience however that looks like for you - arranging visits to professionals in healthcare to heloing you boost your Arabic skills, to presentations from Human Rights groups. I strongly reccommend looking at this programme if you have any curiosity at all about Palestine and Hebron.

My name is Chris, I study Arabic as part of my degree at university and came to the Excellence Center to practise and learn more Arabic.
I had a great experience at the Excellence Center in Hebron during my two-week Arabic course. My teacher, Haya, was extremely helpful and attentive, and made sure each lesson was personalised for who was in the class. I feel far more confident with the language now than when I started two weeks ago. As well, the center's organized visits to local areas like the Old City provided insightful perspective on the situation here and the way of life.
One thing that stood out to me was the warm and welcoming nature of the people I encountered. From the staff at the center to the locals in Hebron, everyone made me feel like a part of the community and helped me with my Arabic.
As well, I was comforted by the strong sense of safety I felt throughout my time at the Excellence Center. Despite being in an initially unfamiliar place, I quickly realized that the center's location and the community's support created a secure environment for me to explore and learn. The Center was a good transport hub and I travelled from the public transport near the center to cities like Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Haifa.
All in all, my time at the Excellence Center in Hebron was great. Haya's dedication, the insightful local visits, the welcoming people, and the sense of safety made this experience worth it.

Great Arabic lessons in Palestine for a fair price. The center provided pleasant housing, and a daily breakfast with the occasional field trip. I would greatly reccomend it for anyone looking for Arabic lessons in the region. The travel to Palestine was supringly relaxed. I made some great friend around the Center.

Traveling to Palestine wan't nearly as bad as I expected. The were no problems at the airport. The trip from Tel Aviv to Hebron was organised by the center, this was pleasant and fast, but a little pricy. Most importantly, Hebron felt like a very safe and pleasant city

I’m a teacher from Australia who is looking to semi-retire in a few years from now. I was able to take 3 months leave without pay from my college to mix some travel with volunteer work, doing what I love.

My two week program at the Excellence Centre has been exactly what I’d hoped for: the opportunity to meet and work with people from other parts of the world, who have either temporarily or permanently settled in Halle (Salle).

The team at the Excellence Centre is a great mix of people, working under the guidance of Rafat. Our shared breakfast every morning is warm and welcoming. Rafat’s cooking is delicious and completely different from what I’d usually have at home. The team of volunteers develop friendships over breakfast and discuss their day ahead. Plans are made for evenings and weekends.

Halle (Salle) is a beautiful city. I had planned to travel to Berlin for my weekends, but decided against it as there is so much to do, both here and in nearby Leipzig. The public transport system is efficient and many places of interest are within walking distance. There’s a lot of local and international cuisine to try and Halle has many coffee shops.

I have had the pleasure of working with a number of students: some teens on summer break; some young ones about to commence their university studies; and some young professionals seeking to develop their careers with yet another language. All had a high level of English already. These students were from various places: Syria, Palestine and Ukraine.

Sometimes my small groups met at the Centre and worked together there. Sometimes we visited our favourite cafes, to drink coffee and have conversations in less formal settings. Adult students know what they want to work on, so sessions can be student led. Most wanted English conversations but some also wanted to conference their essays and CVs. Interactive grammar activities from free online quiz websites were fun and lively. Students’ errors make for handy teachable moments. The Centre has wifi so we could use very short films for discussion. Students quickly began bringing their own YouTube clips for class

I chose Arabic as the language in which to receive some instruction as part of my program. It seemed to me to be a more useful language for my Australian context. I’m an absolute beginner. Ali was an excellent teacher. (Sh’kran, Ali) I now know a few greetings and useful phrases to use. I also learned a lot about the Arabic alphabet and culture.

I’d recommend the Excellence Centre to anyone who wants to spend time learning and teaching languages in less familiar surrounds. I’m sad to be finishing. I’ve really enjoyed my two weeks here. It’s been a very positive experience.

Thank you Rafat and your special team!

I studied an intensive Arabic course for 2 weeks at the Excellence Centre during August. I chose Palestine as I wanted an immersive experience but I also wished to gain an insight into the realities of life for the people. I had a very rewarding experience, met some great people and will remember my experience for the rest of my life. My teacher was fantastic and I learnt so much within my 2 weeks! Not only did I learn lots of the local Palestinian dialect but I also learnt so much about the people, the situation in Palestine and the history of the area. As well as having 3 hours of class each day, I had the opportunity to participate in vista with volunteers also from the centre. I felt safe and welcomed by so many different people within the vibrant city of Hebron. I stayed with a host family very close to the centre who were lovely and welcoming, they made me feel welcome and at home.

Thanks Excellence Centre for giving me the opportunity to connect with such a variety of experiences and meet some amazing people!

The best way to describe The Excellence Center is “Family”. After spending 3 weeks in Halle, I genuinely feel like I have a home away from home. The staff, volunteers, and teachers do everything in their power to create an environment of comfortability and love. They go above and beyond to make your stay unforgettable and genuine.

While having an unbelievable amount of fun, I also learned an immense amount of Arabic. I participated in the intensive Arabic program with one of the best teachers (in any subject) that I have ever had. Muaz is not only a master of language, but he is a master of teaching.

My Arabic lessons were versatile, engaging, immersive, and much more (I could go on forever about how amazing my Arabic teacher/lessons were). I now feel significantly more confident in my Arabic speaking, writing, reading, and listening. The large population of Arabic speakers in Halle also helps you fully immerse yourself in the Arabic language (the Arabic learning doesn’t stop after the lessons!). I could not imagine having a better experience with my language learning.

The Excellence Center is an amazing place, full of likeminded people. The staff is qualified and experts at what they do. I recommend The Excellence Center to anyone and everyone who is looking to learn rapidly while having the time of their life!

The Women's Rights Program gave me a good overview of the situation in Palestine and of the Human's Rights conditions in general. Being here helped me to understand better a situation that can appear to difficult to understand from outside.
I felt safe in my daily life in Hebron and Palestine because I was a foreigner and
therefore was treated properly by everyone
I would recommend the Center but you need to
take into account that every experience is different according to the program, host families
(mine played a huge part in my positive experience), length of the stay,

I had a really nice experience and met so many lovely people during my time here. The Human Rights program was very interesting. Some visits were more related to human rights than others, but still you will definitely get an idea of human rights situation in Palestine and all the violations. The advice I would give to people doing this program is: know what you want to do during your time here and what you want to learn from your program. Take initiative and tell the Center if you want to do something specific. I loved giving human rights workshops to Palestinian youth and also I would recommend getting in touch and working together with the Human Rights Defenders Association.

I had a wonderful experience teaching English in Hebron, I taught in the old city and Taffouh, a small village outside of Hebron. My experience was very insightful and I was extremly lucky to meet other foreigners here, in addition to the amazing locals. The local culture is nothing like I have ever experienced, everyone is so warm and welcoming. It is easy to meet other foreigners, the center is always full of people. Breakfast is a great time to talk and meet new people.I am very grateful I was able to experience Palestinian life and culture.

Thank you Excellence Center!

Both the family and the center were more hospitable than I would have ever thought. The family was incredible, and the living situation itself was average. The excursions were informative and helpful for my understanding of the situation in palestine, and Hebron is very safe- I had no worries travelling in and out of the city. I felt my time was too short- I worked with a lawyer as I am in the law program, and it was wonderful to learn about sharia law. I would absolutely reccomend the law program.