The Israel and Palestine study tour is an existential journey of education in hospitality, hope and frustration – in an area where politics, history and religion are inextricably intertwined. We unveil the layers of media narratives about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and meet with the people it affects. We will visit both sides of the great wall of separation and reflect on how two otherwise open and welcoming people can disagree so irreconcilably about how they should live together.

A RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL MECCA
We will live in the divinely beautiful city of Jerusalem, which is the world’s cultural centre for both Jews, Christians and Muslims. We will experience the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Via Dolorosa, the Wailing Wall, the Garden of Gethsemane and other historical sights, but also the visible and invisible divides that separate the city into Jewish, Muslim and Christian quarters.

Our journey will take us south through checkpoints and into the West Bank to Bethlehem and Hebron. We will visit the old city where Israeli settlers, under strong protection of the Israeli military, have occupied the upper floors of houses in which the lower floors are inhabited by Palestinians.

We will meet with local Palestinians and hear about life under occupation and we will join Palestinian farmers in harvesting olives and planting seeds of hope that they may protect their fields from being taken over for new Israeli settlements.

A COMMON FATE AND AN EXISTENTIAL JOURNEY
Israel and Palestine are not just a home for two peoples. It is also the holy land that is deeply connected to us. As Danes the country’s fate is part of our history. To unfold our mutual bond, we will we will also meet and talk to both young Christians, Jewish rabbis, monks and nuns.

People have been making pilgrimages to this country throughout time and tell of special and often life-changing experiences. Is it possible to find an echo of this immersion within ourselves and can you actually practice openness so that the journey may affect your own life? This is the existential educational journey that we are going on together.