Join this two-week trip to Israel/Palestine to witness the difficulties of Palestinian life under occupation and learn about the work of various Israeli, Palestinian, and international groups working for peace with justice, including Sabeel, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Women in Black, Breaking the Silence and others. We will also have time to visit the religious sites.

Trip Objectives:

• To visit with Palestinian and Israeli peace and human rights groups and individuals working for peace.

• To see first-hand the reality of Palestinian life and the impact of the Israeli occupation - the wall, settlements, checkpoints, roadblocks, refugee camps, etc.

• To consider what is needed for a just peace.

Trip Highlights:

• Stay in the Old City of Jerusalem, within easy walking distance of the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Dome of the Rock.

• Explore the holy sites and bazaars of the Old City of Jerusalem.

• Tour the illegal Jewish settlements of East Jerusalem with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD).

• Meet with B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories

• Visit the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem.

• Stand with the Women in Black on Friday at noon, and visit with Machsom Watch Women and ex-soldiers from Breaking the Silence.

• Visit a Palestinian refugee camp and witness checkpoints and roadblocks.

• Visit in the homes of Palestinian Christians in the Beit Jala area.

• See the Wall and learn about its impact in Jerusalem and in villages in the West Bank.

• Travel to Galilee to visit Nazareth, the Mount of Beatitudes, and spend two nights by the Sea of Galilee.

• Learn about the many Palestinian villages that were destroyed in 1948, and the current struggle of “unrecognized Arab villages” in Israel.

• Visit Nablus, a West Bank city completely surrounded by checkpoints.

• Visit with a Jewish settler in a West Bank settlement.

• Meet with the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron, and visit the Mosque of Ibrihim, honored by Jews and Muslims as the burial place of Abraham.

• Swim in the Dead Sea and visit Qumran.

Tour Leaders:

Joy Lapp teaches religion at Iowa Wesleyan College. She spent three years in the Middle East working with Mennonite Central Committee and serves on the Friends of Sabeel-North America Steering Committee.

Arnie Voigt is a Lutheran minister. He has visited Israel/Palestine many times and has led numerous tour groups. This is the seventh trip that Arnie and Joy are organizing together.

Cost: Tentative cost at this time is $2400, to be firmed up in January.

Includes: hotel, 2 meals per day, tour guide and entrance fees, transportation, and tips. Does not include: airfare, lunch, souvenirs, personal expenses or travel insurance. Travelers will arrange their own flights to arrive in Jerusalem by June 3. Our program begins with dinner at our hotel at 6 pm on June 3, followed by introductions and orientation. Prices are based on double-occupancy. Supplement for a single room is $685. Prices are based on a minimum of 20 travelers, and subject to changes due to circumstances beyond our control. 

Travelers must have a passport that is valid six months beyond date of re-entry to U.S. 

Confirmation and $100 payment needed by March 1, 2013.

For more information, please contact:
Joy - 319-219-9171; lappj@earthlink.net
Arnie - 303-798-7887;  arnievoigt@msn.com

We extend a warm invitation to join this cross-cultural encounter to view the holy sites, and to visit with people passionately involved in the effort of peacemaking today.