Co-operatives and Liberation, not necessarily in that order
The Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem is a place not to be missed if you are an English speaker interested in Palestinian solidarity work, or even just someone interested in Palestinian perspectives on the conflict in historical Palestine. If you are used to seeing only a few books at a time on the Israel-Palestine conflict […]
Read More A must-see Jerusalem Book-ShopI’ve spent a week in Jerusalem, but I’ve only visited Jewish and Muslim holy sites. I’ve spent some time at the wailing wall on two different days. And to be precise, I haven’t actually been up to the Temple Mount to where are the holiest Muslim sites – but I’ve approached and been turned away […]
Read More A Christian Holy Place in Jerusalem? (The Church of the Holy Sepulchr)This weekend our group went on the first of our mini weekend trips. On friday we picked up rental cars and drove to a Bedouin community where Bustan is helping build an eco-tourism lodge, which will include several eco-domes and a larger building, as well as a billeting program to house larger numbers of guests. […]
Read More Road Tripping through Southern PalestineYesterday I realized that I hadn’t spent much time alone since the start of this trip. I do this sometimes – I enjoy other people’s company so much that I don’t take much time alone, just to spend time with myself and reflect on the situation in general rather than being engaged in a specific […]
Read More The Normal Streets of West JerusalemPerhaps because this trip is Canadian, there is a lot of emphasis on “perspectives”. Everyone’s understanding is just their “perspective” and no one’s perspective is true and no one’s is false. I love the idea of a “perspective”, because I think it’s an incredibly powerful way to talk about a piece of understanding. According to […]
Read More Narratives, Facts, PathologiesToday we met with Rabbis for Human Rights in the morning. RHR might be able to use a photographer for some of its trips to the West Bank, and I’ve volunteered for that position. Meeting the Rabbi was interesting – I was surprised to learn that RHR is a zionist organization. I asked him if […]
Read More It’s an intense trip (Rabbis for Human Rights, Jaffa, IDF Soldier)Yesterday I visited Ein Kerem, an Arab/Christian village which was depopulated during the 1948 war. Today I visited Kalandia refugee camp, and met a Palestinian who is disillusioned with the PA and Palestinian statehood, and just wants to go home to the village his family fled from in 1948. My grandfather was here between 1946 and 1948 […]
Read More Why I wear a keffiyeh in Palestine“I don’t consider territory to the east of the Green line to be Israel, I consider it to be the West Bank of Jordan, captured in 1967 and ceded by Jordan to Palestine in 1988” “Sure, but that’s just your perspective” “Well, few international states recognize Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem, not even Canada” “Ok, […]
Read More Names and Perspectives and East Jerusalem and the Annexed Palestinian TerritoryWearing a keffiyeh in West Jerusalem is not the same as wearing a keffiyeh in Toronto. Tonight on a walk through the German Colony we came across a house with a bonfire outside, celebrating the jewish holiday of Lag B’omer We stood outside for a while, but entered after some other people wandering down the […]
Read More Wearing a Keffiyeh in West JerusalemThe Wailing Wall and Arbitrary Inclusion/Specific Exclusion I visited the wailing wall for the second time today. This time I was with Paul, and we walked right up to the wall itself, and into the enclosed prayer area at the left side. We were asked to cover our heads, but little white yakimas were provided […]
Read More Vignettes of Jerusalem
Only a Northern Song 