The Excellence Center Reviews

I’m 23 years old and from the Netherlands. I have a bachelor's degree in law and a pre master degree in Middle Eastern Studies. Currently I am in university to obtain my Master of Arts in Middle Eastern Studies. For the completion I had to do an internship and coming to Palestine felt like a perfect opportunity. Since I am also very interested in law, international law in particular, I chose to do the human rights internship for nine weeks. The Excellence Center provided an interesting, safe and nice atmosphere to learn about human rights and the situation in Palestine.

My program consisted of three parts. First I took two weeks of Arabic classes. During this time I regained some knowledge from university and this gave me the chance to practice by myself in the weeks that followed. Throughout the weeks I learned the most by just listening to people and hearing the language all the time. Moreover, it is nice that lots of the staff at the Excellence Center will communicate in basic Arabic to make sure you keep practicing.

The next two weeks, I went on many trips regarding the human rights situation in Palestine and specifically in Hebron. These trips can include visiting human rights organizations and governmental institutions. We for example visited Human Rights Defenders, a Hebron based organization whose goal is to document the reality of the occupation. I was even able to arrange an extra meeting with one of their founders to elaborate on the organization and their work even further. That is a huge benefit of staying for a longer time, you are able to build up relationships and undertake the activities and meetings you are personally interested in.
Another visit was to the ministry of Education. Here we met one of the supervisors who mainly explained about the issues of teachers and students whose schools and/or houses are in the H2 area which is under Israeli military control.

The last month of my stay I taught English in Kharas, a nearby village. The students were about 9-15 years old and followed a summer programme to improve their English skills. It was exciting to experience such motivated students. Thereby, I got to learn more about the culture, for example during the food day when the kids shared Palestinian sweets and dishes.

Generally my time in Palestine has been very enriching and enjoyable. The people I met are all so generous and hospitable which made my stay so pleasant.
Moreover, it made me feel very welcome in the city and the country as a whole. As a woman I personally felt very safe in all of Palestine. At some times the reality of the occupation is quite visible in Hebron, for example when the Israeli army clashes with Palestinians near the old city. But even at those times I did not feel unsafe. The same goes for other Palestinian cities and I very much enjoyed traveling throughout the country; to Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Jericho.

My name is Molly and I'm from Denmark, and I have been studying Arabic at the excellence centre for 4 weeks. I had three hours of Arabic classes each day with Saja who was a great teacher! We were just 2-4 students in class, and we had a lot of fun with each other and the other teachers and students. I already knew some Arabic before I came, so we did a lot of talking, both about ourselves, the political situation in Palestine and many other things. I definitely learned a lot, now I am able to have conversations in Arabic. Apart from the Arabic lessons, the centre organizes a lot of trips around Hebron. We visited a refugee camp, toured the old city and saw some of the settlements there, went on a hike to Palestine's largest cave and many other things.
In summer there are a lot of students at the centre, and everyone is very friendly. Every weekend, students go on trips to different parts of Palestine, so it's easy to find someone to go with. I went to the Dead Sea, Ramallah, Jericho, Jerusalem and the Sea of Gallilee.
I leaved with a very nice Palestinian family close to the old city with another girl from the center. It was really nice to have the opportunity to talk to them and practise Arabic as well as learn more about the life in Palestine. When you walk in the old city, people are eager to talk about their life here and offer you a cup of coffee, especially when they find out you know Arabic. You definitely get a feeling of the Israel/Palestine conflict, as Hebron is a highly contested area with settlers living in the middle of the city. This was really interesting and an aspect of the stay here I hadn't thought about before coming. It doesn't feel dangerous at all, as both sides of the conflict don't have a problem with Europeans and Americans, and everyone just wants you to leave with a good impression of their country. Traveling within the West Bank is really easy and a great experience, and everyone is really helpful. I would recommend it to everyone visiting Israel to see both sides of the conflict.
Overall I'm very happy with the experience. I have learned a lot, both Arabic, about a very important region of the world and about the Palestinian people.

I’m from the Netherlands. I did a Bachelor’s degree in law and in Middle Eastern Studies and a Master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies. I chose to follow the Human Rights Program at the Excellence Center because it combines my interests: Law and the Middle East, especially concerning the situation in Palestine. I wanted to learn more about the humanitarian situation in Palestine. Moreover, I wanted to experience living in Palestine to get an impression of the culture.
The program started with several lectures about human rights and the situation in Palestine. The presentations focused on the political situation in Palestine, the laws applicable to Palestine, and the violation of laws. Various teachers delivered the presentations. Given the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, these lectures and presentations prepared me for the trips to human rights organizations that would take place during my internship.
I attended a lot of activities that were organized by the Excellence Center. For the Human Rights Program, we went to organizations that work on the topic of human rights for example Human Rights Defenders an organization that organizes campaigns to stop the Israeli occupation. Moreover, we went to Palestinian Artist, Nizreen Al-Azza. She lives in the H2 area (the military-controlled area in Hebron). She told me about her husband, a human rights defender in Hebron before he died following the inhalation of tear gas in a checkpoint in Hebron. The work of human rights lawyers is under pressure due to the Israeli military making it difficult for them to carry out their work. Besides organizations that directly focus on human rights, I also visited organizations that are indirectly involved in human rights. An example is the Ministry of Education, a department of the Palestinian government that focuses on the right to education. We discussed the school system and the importance of focusing on schools next to settlements due to the difficult circumstances to go to school because of checkpoints, and the fear of children passing military soldiers. Moreover, it is hard to find teachers that want to teach in these areas given the challenges of teaching children that grew up in a conflict zone and have experienced traumatic events. Also, most of the teachers do not want to be in these areas. Therefore, the right to education in Palestine is under pressure.
The working visits were very helpful to get a better understanding of the situation in Palestine. However, the best way to get a better understanding is by living in the country, speaking with a lot of different people, and hearing their perspectives and experiences. The people in Hebron are very open and willing to talk to foreigners. They are very hospitable and I have been invited to several family dinners. Their hospitality is the thing that I liked most I like to take that home. I have never felt unsafe in Palestine. There are always people on the streets and everyone is willing to help.
It is important to understand a little bit of Arabic. The Center organizes 3 hours of Arabic per week you’re at the center. Those lessons helped me to interact with the people on the streets.
During the weekends you have time off to travel to other places. I have been to many places such as Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Jericho, and the Dead Sea. I really liked the opportunity to visit these places.
In short, I really enjoyed my time at the Excellence Center in Hebron. The staff and the teachers are very friendly. I am writing this in my last week and I am sad that I have to leave. It is an experience I will take with me forever.

I was a bit nervous because of what I heard about Palestine and the fact that I had never traveled anywhere in the middle east before. But I learned and experienced so much that I would've never been able to anywhere else. It was also extremely safe and my host family was very helpful throughout my stay.
During my first week in Palestine, I understood how important community is and how it holds everything together. In the West, we’re much more individualistic and focused on the self; here, it is the opposite. One of my first visits was to a Human Rights NGO in the Old City. The man we spoke to was a non-violent activist who provided English lessons, first aid classes for women, and much more. He told us that for Sahoor they took community members to a local Palestinian village to learn about Palestinian agricultural practices and their history. This is just one example of how vital these resources are.

Overall, this experience was very impactful, and it was necessary to experience life here first-hand. I’ve made unique connections with people in the center and Palestinians all throughout Palestine. I won’t forget the time I spent here, and I plan on taking everything I learned and immersed myself in while I was here, with me when I go.

Nowhere on Earth will you find people quite like the Palestinian people, they are extremely firendly, generous, and kind. They will happily welcome you into their country and their own homes. The Arabic courses here at the Excellence Center are an amazing way to quickly improve all facets of your language skills. My teacher Duha was amazing! Everyday I learned new and important skills, I felt supported the whole way. I cannot recommend this program enough to others. I always felt safe walking in the city.

I am a 20F and a master’s student in America studying Palestinian politics. I had not been in Arabic classes for over a year, and I wanted to improve my Arabic in an immersive way for a reasonable price. After searching on the internet, I found the Excellence Center.
I was worried about starting Arabic again since I hadn’t been in classes for over a year, but I was blessed to be in a class with one of the best teachers I have ever had. Haya met me exactly where I was and has helped me grow tremendously. Not only in vocabulary, reading, listening comprehension, and writing, but most importantly, I gained confidence in speaking Arabic that I didn’t have before her class. Haya is a fantastic teacher; I can attribute much of my success in Arabic and navigating Palestine to her. She pushed me in the best way, and everything we did in class was set up to help me succeed. Haya is incredibly attentive and meticulous in her lessons and tailored each class to what I needed and even my interests! It is easily visible how much she cares about her students. Even now, I know I can continue to build upon my Arabic because she set up an incredibly firm foundation for me to continue on my own. Everything I learned from Haya applied to my daily life in Palestine. I could visibly see my progress even though I had only spent four weeks in class with her.

The Center was welcoming, and it was great to be placed with a host family to have an
immersive experience. The other teachers at the Center were also incredibly supportive. They were always willing to practice speaking with me and answer my questions about the ongoing Nakba, occupation, and general things about Palestine and traveling around the country.

I traveled to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Nablus during my month here. I visited multiple refugee camps in numerous cities. Even if you have followed the news and studied Palestine, nothing can compare to seeing what is happening firsthand.
I cannot speak highly enough of Haya and the other teachers at the Center. They are genuinely some of the best Arabic instructors I’ve ever had. But, this is tied directly to Palestinian hospitality. This was my first time out of the United States, and I never once felt uncomfortable or unsafe. I knew that if I ever needed help, all I needed to do was turn to a random Palestinian on the street, and they would go above and beyond to help me. I am incredibly grateful for my experience here, both in and outside the classroom, and I cannot wait to return to Palestine.

I spent a month interning at the Excellence Center in Halle during July 2023. During this time I studied Arabic, taught English, and had the chance to get to know several people/families who came to Germany as refugees.

My time at the Excellence Center was a positive experience, in which I had the chance to both learn from my peers and help others as an English teacher. The workload was extremely manageable, as it is a flexible environment where you can plan lessons on your own both in terms of time and location. For example, I don’t work well with many classes in a row and prefer to have my lessons spread out, therefore I planned in 1-2 classes a day in the afternoons including during the weekends in a café near my house, which is what suited me best. In contrast, another of the volunteers prefers to have intense days: he scheduled all of his classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays, meaning that the other days he can either study, plan lessons, or go on trips around the area.

As well as this, the Excellence Center is a welcoming atmosphere, and works to create activities to make the volunteers and interns get to know each other. We have breakfast together four days a week, and Rafat regularly makes brunches and lunches with traditional Palestinian dishes for special occasions, most often when we have goodbyes for volunteers. The Center also organizes city tours and trips outside of Halle, and supports any new trip ideas they might have. This was especially interesting as the group of volunteers was quite international, meaning that through these activities we got to know each other and our different cultures and experiences better.

My only comment for the Center would be the nature of the communication. Several times it felt like information was communicated last-minute, and only when asked. I was only told about my accommodation a few weeks before starting, and was only told where I was supposed to go upon arrival two hours before getting to Halle, after I asked. Though I was told to bring basic necessities such as bedsheets, I wasn’t told that there wouldn't be Wi-Fi in my accommodation, which led me to spending extra money to get data roaming, using café Wi-Fi, or having to ask to use my housemates’ Wi-Fi hotspots when they were home. This hassle would’ve been prevented by making sure every accommodation had Wi-Fi, or by communicating in advance that I needed to buy a German SIM. During the internship itself it also felt like events were communicated last-minute, either the day before or the day of the activity, and the dates and times of events do change quite a bit. To be fair, the flexibility of the work means that I could simply reschedule things, but organization and communication still is an area where the Center can improve.

However in general, I did feel very supported throughout the whole internship, because there were many people I could go to for any issues. There are student coordinators who help a lot, for example checking you into your accommodation, organizing tours around the city, and acting as points of reference for any issues you may have. For instance the second week I was here, my housemate had locked herself in her bedroom and couldn’t get out as the key wasn’t working. I called Ali (the volunteer team leader) and Lord (the coordinator) for help: Ali gave me information regarding locksmiths in Germany but couldn’t help as he had a meeting, and Lord helped me by calling the 24-hour locksmith who only spoke German, and checked in throughout the afternoon to know how things were going. It all worked out in the end, and we couldn’t have done it without their knowledge and help. Similarly Rafat, the director, is a caring and generous person, who makes an effort to get to know everyone and makes sure they feel comfortable and safe. For example I got ill the first week of my internship, and he showed me where the pharmacy was, loaned me cash as my card stopped working, told me to go home and get rest, and texted me a few times to ask how I was feeling. He also reassured me that if I wasn’t getting better, he could help me get checked-out by a doctor. Rafat consistently checked in with me throughout the month, asking how I was settling in and if there were any issues that he could help with. When my boyfriend came to visit me, Rafat was extremely welcoming and supportive, and invited him to both breakfast at the Center and a home-cooked meal.

All in all, interning at the Center was a growing and fulfilling experience, where I had the chance to know caring and interesting people, while learning about different cultures and experiences. I highly recommend it!

Hello! My name is Stephanie Carpenter and I am from Germany and England. I am currently doing a four year masters degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies and I came to the Excellence Center in Hebron to improve my Arabic dialect (language skills).

I did a lot of research to find a course that suited me and found that the Excellence Center not only gave a wide variety of options in their courses but also offered flexibility within their curriculum.

Once I found the center, I was determined to go and it was the best decision I made to improve my Arabic.

I had already studied Arabic for one year, and I was a unsure if the classes would match my level but my teacher, Mahmoud and my class was suited me perfectly. And even though I was with the Center for a short time I learned such a lot and laughed a lot in my classes . Every morning I had Arabic from 8:30-12 with breaks for food and coffee and the afternoons were filled with trips to the city of Hebron. On my first day, we went to Al Fawwar Refugee camp where I learned a lot about the reality of living in these areas and the struggles they face daily. This was really important for me as I believe that hearing about their experiences is the best way to get a real understanding of the situation.
Another trip was to the Old City of Hebron and the Ibrahimi Mosque, both of which were incredible to see firsthand. In between the big trips we also had some lovely events at the center, including traditional Palestinian music and Maqloubah for dinner. This was a lovely way to chat with others in different programs.

One of the things I loved most about the Center is the kindness and friendliness of the staff, teachers, and students which gives such a welcoming atmosphere. But everyone you meet in Palestine is extremely polite and willing to help whether you are speaking English or Arabic. I’ve never felt unsafe or insecure during my time here and I couldn’t recommend coming to Hebron enough.

Additionally, staying with a host family was such a unique way of getting to know the food and culture of Palestine. I can honestly say from the first day I felt extremely at home and very comfortable which is very important when travelling as a solo woman. I can’t wait to come back again to Hebron and to the center and I will definitely be staying for longer next time!

I had a really great time in Hebron. I studied Arabic and my level has increased greatly. Every step of the way, I had support from my teacher who always tailored the lessons specifically for my needs. Other than just Arabic, living in Khalil was great. People in Khalil are extremely nice and welcoming. It is a great place to be based in within the West Bank. Khalil is a safe city and I never felt under any threat ever. In fact, I expect that you will feel safer in Khalil than in your country of origin

I had an amazing time with the Excellence Centre. Staff are absolutely brilliant and very friendly. We visited different organisations which help support refugees and visited fawar refugee camp and gained an insight into the living conditions and life of the refugees. Fantastix experience with great people. I will definetly return in the future. My message for those who are afraid of coming, I want to reasure you it is extremely safe so please come and visit Palestine and the lovely people here.