Human Rights Program

My name is Elizabeth and I’m a 21 year old college student from the United States. At
the Excellence Center, I participated in the Human Rights Program for two months. At my
university in the U.S., I study Arabic, Middle Eastern Culture, and Islam, but I also have taken
many courses about Palestinian literature, film, and history and am involved in Palestinian
activism with a group of students on my campus.
At the Excellence Center, I attended regular visits to companies, organizations,
government offices, and important cultural sites. Some of my favorite visits were to Hebron’s old
city, the UN OCHA office, and the Human Rights Defenders office. Became I am also interested
in Palestinian art, some of my other favorite visits were to various art studios around Hebron
where I was able to meet a wide variety of Palestinian artists including a painter, oud player,
glass worker, stop motion film-maker, and stone carver.
Along with site visits, I also received Arabic instruction every week and taught English in
Al-Fawwar Refugee Camp. I had previously studied Modern Standard Arabic for two years and
my lessons at the center allowed me to focus more on the spoken Palestinian dialect. Between
my Arabic lessons and living with a host family, I was able to pick up many new dialect words
and phrases. My Arabic teacher was also incredibly flexible and crafted our lessons around what
I already knew and what I wanted to learn. Teaching English also provided me with more
opportunities to practice my Arabic and I had a wonderful experience teaching my class of
middle schoolers for a few weeks.
The environment at the Excellence Center is very warm and welcoming. Every single
morning I was greeted by local students playing outside, teachers and volunteers hanging out on
the steps, and the staff working inside. Most days, once I was done with my responsibilities at
the center, I would find myself in a group of international volunteers and local staff members
alike on my way to a restaurant or cafe. Despite the large number of volunteers at the center
throughout the summer, I felt like the staff at the center were very attuned to my individual
needs. Osama made sure that I got to see everything I wanted to see in Hebron during my time at
the center and Marwa always made sure that I knew I could go to her with any problems that
might arise.
Outside of my time at the center, I spent weekends in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Ramallah,
Nablus, Jericho, and Jaffa. There was almost always a big group of volunteers heading
someplace for the weekend and people were always willing and eager to give hostel
recommendations and to share service rides. Each city in Palestine has its own unique character
and I definitely recommend trying to visit as many places as you can!
I felt very safe in Palestine. People here are very eager to help you, give you rides, and
invite you to their homes and I always felt safe accepting those things from people I had just met.
In fact, my other international friends and I often marveled at how safe we felt in situations that
we would normally avoid in our home countries. While I found Palestine to be a very safe place,
of course I do recommend that female volunteers retain the same levels of caution and wariness
that they would in any other country. I never walked home alone after dark, told my friends
where I was going, and texted them when I got home safe. As a foreign woman, you should
expect lots of attention from men and boys and should know that they will be much quicker to
speak to you than they are to local women. While I did receive unwanted attention, I never once
felt like I was in danger here in Palestine.
Living in Hebron and with a host family was a very positive experience. I spend Eid
al-Adha with my host family, went on a family vacation to Jericho, attended weddings and
graduation parties, and overall felt very included in local Palestinian life. I quickly felt like I was
part of the family and felt at home living with them. My host “mom” worked for the Hebron
Governorate and she was able to set up a meeting between the Excellence Center volunteers and
the governor of Hebron. Along with all of the fun activities that I joined with my host family, we
were also able to have many conversations about the occupation and the reality of life in
Palestine that were more in depth than any other conversations I had.
My favorite experiences from living in Palestine came from my friendship with a local
artist here in Hebron. We first visited his studio as a group from the center, but I was later able to
return to his studio to paint (we graffitied a bench that now lives in a shoe store in Hebron) and
he also introduced me to other Palestinian artists. I was even able to go with him to Bethlehem
for a competition between young Palestinian artists in the Banksy Walled Off Hotel where I met
Sliman Mansour. Another one of my favorite experiences was when I got to meet the rapper
Tamer Nafar, who I’ve researched for the past year, after a concert of his in Jaffa.
My overall experience at the Excellence Center was very positive. Through the
Excellence Center, I met wonderful people from Hebron and from all around the world. The
volunteers who come to the Excellence Center, while their backgrounds are wildly diverse, come
with a shared set of values and a shared commitment to the Palestinian cause. The staff at the
Excellence Center are also incredible and I made many friends among staff members here. I
learned so much about the occupation and the human rights situation here through lectures and
visits that the Excellence Center organized. I would certainly recommend the Excellence Center
to anyone who was interested in visiting Palestine and I absolutely loved my time here.
After two months in Palestine, I am still astounded by the overwhelming kindness and
generosity of the people here despite the realities of the occupation. I stood in the wreckage of
demolished homes, watched IDF soldiers confront my friends, and spoke to many people whose
family members have been killed. Still, the kindness of people in Hebron does not waver. I will
always be in awe of the resilient spirit here, whether it manifests itself as a commitment to teach
English to a younger generation, a dedication to documenting and disseminating events that take
place here, or the creation of profound and beautiful art