Great experience in Palestine

I can highly recommend the Trip to Palestine organized by the Excellence center. I gained a thorough insight in the Palestinian life and their daily struggles. In my opinion it is almost impossible to feel and understand the situation Palestinians live in when you haven’t visited the West Bank yourself. Therefore, this trip is a great opportunity if you want to comprehend the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its consequences.

For me, the most impressive part of the trip was the visit to the bedouin village Susiya. For decades Palestinian bedouins have been living on their land in the village, even before the first Jews came to Israel. Currently, the village is being threatened by Jewish settlers who built a settlement close to the village. It was impressive to hear the stories of the bedouins en sharing dinner with them. If you travel on your own to the West Bank and you are not fluent in Arabic (like me) it is impossible to do such a visit to Susiya and to talk with the inhabitants. I’m very grateful that our great guides Rafat and Osama took us to Susiya and many other interesting places.

Furthermore, being received with open heart by the Palestinian host family was very memorable. We celebrated Eid during my visit and the family took us with them to their relatives and made us part of the special holiday. I was amazed by the generosity and joyfulness of the Palestinian people. Even after everything they have been through they made me feel very welcome.

The Excellence Center is doing great work in Hebron and they are very well-organized. Our trip was perfectly prepared and we had very interesting and full schedules. Before I went on the trip I was a little concerned about the security situation in the West Bank. However, I haven’t felt unsafe for a single moment and the organization takes very good care of the participants. Therefore, I can truly recommend everyone to join the Trip to Palestine!