The What, Where, Why & How of my Journey to the Holy Land

As I sit at my father’s in Annapolis, I figured it’s an apt moment to put down some pre-departure words on where I’m going, what I’ll be doing, and for whom I’ll be working in Palestine.

As a quick note, for those of you new to blogs, as you can see a blog is a kind of online journal where you can post text, photos, videos, etc. And, where people who read your blog can (in many cases) leave comments. Blogs also offer additional functionality such as the archives of previous posts (see left sidebar), as well as a host of other personal touches an author can add. I’ve added a section which displays the latest news stories (also in the left sidebar) about Nablus (the city I’ll be living in).

The City of Nablus is located approximately 35 miles north of Jerusalem, in the West Bank. The city is spread along the floor and hillsides of the valley between Mounts Jarzim and Ebal , and is home to An-Najah National University, where I’ll be working. In particular, I’ll be volunteering in the Public Relations department of the university (this is the group that organizes the cultural exchange in which I participated in August of 2004) (http://youth.zajel.org/). My work will include a variety of activities including: editing the English language version of the department’s website, coaching this year’s student ambassadors in English, and preparing them culturally to receive their international guests. In addition, and most important to me, I’ll be working on starting an initiative within the Public Relations Department to look at non-violent responses to the conflict within the Palestinian Community. Aside from my work with the University my primary objectives are to learn Arabic and work on gathering material for doing some writing on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

I’ll be living in University Housing (not sure what this means yet, pictures to follow). I met a lot of genuine and kind people during my previous visit, and I’m looking forward to reuniting with them. The city is generally considered to be fairly conservative and is a focal point of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. I should note at this time that much of the recent news coming from this part of the world has focused on Gaza, where Hamas militants have been bombing Israeli towns near the northern Gaza border. These attacks have been met with Israeli strikes on Gaza. The game of circular accusations over who is responsible for the continued violence is never ending. The situation in the West Bank is quite different, and if it hasn't changed much since I was last here, the Israeli occupation of the city takes the form of road blocks at each of the city’s entrances (where many young Nablusi men are denied exit), and nightly incursion by Israeli military looking to extricate specific persons who are wanted by the state of Israel. I am assuming at this point that more detailed accounts of these types of occurrences will be available in later posts.

I want to make it clear to anyone who may have concerns about my safety that I am not walking into this city blindly. I won't argue that I'll be as safe as I might be in Boston, but the risks are calculated. During my previous visit I became confident that my hosts are quite capable of ensuring that I am relatively safe. The organization I am working for hosts 10's of internationals each year. They are well connected to the community, and while they are not direct associates of some of the cities more unsavory characters, they are aware, in general, of their attitudes and normal movements, and there appears to be a tacit agreement between militants in the area and my hosts, that it is in everyones' best interest that international volunteers be welcomed to Nablus. As a volunteer at the university, members of the community will recognize me a such, and as long as I don't go out of my way to offend anyone, I expect to encounter, if not profound hospitality, at the very worst a benign acknowledgment of my presence there. If you take the time to read some of the news stories at the left of this page, please keep in mind that I am in a different situation from many of the foreigners in Nablus, and that I will be carefully following the lead of my hosts with regard to my movements and my actions. In addition, while part of me admires the courage of some to actively protest the Israeli occupation of Palestine, I will NOT be standing in front of any bulldozers, or linking arms in front of Israeli military. That is not why I have come here.

I leave from JFK at 2:20am Monday, and should arrive 7:45pm (Mon) local time (time difference is 7 hours). If all goes well getting through passport control in Tel Aviv, I will be spending my first night in Jerusalem and then travel to Nablus by taxi the following day.

I’m looking forward to sharing with you the events of my time in Nablus, and the thoughts and images to come. I hope you will enjoy this adventure with me. Please keep in touch, and feel free to make comments which everyone can read (see the comment link below each post). I’ll be in touch soon.

peace,
ryan