Counter Tourism: Responding to Pro-Palestinian Protest and Solidarity Tours

by Ardie Geldman (November 2013)

Visits to Efrat

Hotels and Home Hospitality

Our time in Beit Sahour will be spent touring Palestine, studying Arabic, listening to lectures from professors at Bethlehem University College, and interacting with our host families. Lucas and I are staying with Adeeb, our host-father, host-mother Hyfah, and brothers Elias and Hosam. The hospitality that we have experienced in just the past few days has been incredible. Everyday after classes we are excitedly greeted by Adeeb who asks us all about our day as we enjoy a feast prepared by Hyfah, usually consisting of pita, rice, tea, homemade lemonade, and some sort of chicken dish. Needless to say, we are by no means going to bed hungry at night!9

UN General Assembly Resolution 31/15 of November 23, 1976 and UN General Assembly Resolution 34/52 of November 23, 1979, both of which condemned Israel for improving the lives of Palestinians. 

Hebron

The following is an example of a biased and inaccurate description of contemporary Hebron found on the Internet blog of a Palestinian-American that was presented as recommended reading to an international visitor to Efrat in preparation for his trip to the region:

problematic, often inconsistent, and reflects the organization’s political agenda. (B’Tselem) relies on statistics and reports of other NGOs, despite the political agendas and credibility problems of these other groups.”  The credibility of other NGOs consistently critical of Israel’s presence in the West Bank are similarly suspect on the question of water. 

Jewish people who move to the settlements that are being built on Palestinian land are paid to move there and get brand, new beautiful homes with sidewalks and lawns.28

Are Arab residents of Jerusalem deliberately discriminated against on the issue of building rights by Israeli officials as they and their activist supporters allege? The following three researchers deny this.

The same procedures for administrative demolition orders apply to both Jews and Arabs in all parts of the city, as a final backstop to remove structures built illegally on roadbeds or land designated for schools, clinics, and the like

  • The Visitors

    Inter-organizational Efforts at Delegitimization

    Anti-Israel and Anti-Semitic?

    Jewish and Muslim Participants

    The fact that Braverman is a Jew with family roots in Israel only strengthens his credibility amongst critics of Israel, even if his extreme position is the exception. He is ideologically akin to those few Jewish members of these groups who have stated that perhaps it would be better for Jews and for the world if Israel did not exist.

    Misplaced Idealism

    Rawabi.”46 Overall, during the last eight years the Palestinian economy had risen over 10 percent,47 though more recently it has dropped off in spite of Israeli incentives to assist it growth.48

    Hearts and Minds

    Counter Tourism

    The Image of Hope

    http://www.israelpolitik.org/2009/02/02/israeli-palestinian-joint-projects-a-summary/

    http://italkisrael.com/points-of-light/ 56

    Outreach

    http://www.oattravel.com/Trips/2010/Israel-The-Holy-Land-Timeless-Cultures-2010/Extensions/Post-Trip%20Extensions/Palestinian-Discovery.aspx

    Conclusions

    [1] These are areas that were not part of the state of Israel prior to the June 1967 Six-Day War, but have since been annexed.

    http://blog.ngo-monitor.org/durban-conference/interfaith-peace-buildersafsc-delegations-“misunderstanding-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict”/

    [4] Jerusalem Post, February 18, 2010.

    Honest Reporting, www.honestreporting.com, and CAMERA, www.camera.org.

    www.thisweekinpalestine.com

    British Mandate of Palestine, organized football consisted of British and Jewish clubs… During the British Mandate period, the international team competed under the title of Palestine, despite operating as a virtually all-Jewish organization.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_in_Israel#British_Mandate. The contention that the genuine representative of “Palestinian” football during the British Mandate period was, in fact, a Jewish team, is strongly challenged at  http://footballpalestine.blogspot.com/2009/12/mandate-team-1928-1948.html

    http://emu.edu/blog/crosscultural/category/middle-east-2010/

    [10] http://www.canadianmennonite.org/vol12-2008/12-18/12-18small_756_2008-09-15.pdf

    http://www.ifpb.org/

    http://www.cpt.org/

    http://www.patg.org/

    http://www.Holy Landtrust.org/

    http://www.sirajcenter.org/index.php

    http://www.jha.ac/articles/a135.htm  and  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iURo_lsdXvA

    http://www.tiph.org/

    http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/ and http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/breaking_the_silence_shovirm_shtika_

    http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-seriously-wounded-in-hebron-sniper-shooting/

    http://palestineolive.blogspot.com/

    http://www.globalministries.org/mee/missionaries/once-justice-rolls-then-the-wat.html

    http://www.btselem.org/[23] http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/027/2009/en/e9892ce4-7fba-469b-96b9- c1e1084c620c/mde150272009en.pdf

    http://www.cjhsla.org/uploads/100306-Barghuti.pdf  and http://martinsherman.org/Rebuttal_of_Amnesty_report_on_water_as_ethnic_cleansing%20ENG4. pdf

    http://christianactionforisrael.org/isreport/marapr00/water.html

    http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/MFA+Spokesman/2009/Press+releases/Response-to-World-Bank-repor-+on-PA-water-28-Apr-2009.htm

    [27] New York Times, February 26, 2010

    http://www.canadianmennonite.org

    http://www.jcpa.org/jlmbldg.htm

    http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=74&x_article=937

    http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hireview/content.php?type=article&issue=spring04/&name=davis

    www.machsomwatch.org

    http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Templates/ArticleDynamicFix.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRNODEGUID={D4CC1B61-07C4-42A3-966B-E83806448702}&NRORIGINALURL=/MFA/Visual%2bMedia/MFA%2bpresentations.htm&NRCACHEHINT=Guest

    http://www.christatthecheckpoint.com/, and http://www.christatthecheckpoint.com/gallery/dan6.html

    http://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2013/10/evangelicals-and-israel/

    http://boxologies.blogspot.com/2010/03/christ-at-checkpoint.html

    http://www.ifpb.org/education/activities/empowerment.html

    [41] Mark Braverman was not part of a group that visited Efrat. This information is found on the Internet as cited.

    www.markbraverman.org

    http://www.ifpb.org/education/activities/empowerment.html  See also: http://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Embrace-Christians-Search-Peace/dp/0984076077/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382339995&sr=8-1&keywords=Mark+Braverman

    http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article.php?viewall=yes&id=1761

    * Not including the Gaza Strip.

    http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1108117.html and

    http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/MENAEXT/WESTBANKGAZAEXTN/0,,
    contentMDK:22498645~menuPK:294370~pagePK:2865066~piPK:2865079~theSitePK:294365,00.html

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Palestinian_territories

    [47] Jerusalem Post Magazine, April 23, 2010, p. 21.

    http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Israelis-restrictions-cost-the-Palestinian-economy-34-billion- annually-328129

    http://israelinsider.ning.com/profiles/blogs/hebron-jews-and-arabs-dig-in and

    http://www.hebron.com/english/articles.php?cat_id=103 and http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-pushes-settlers-and-palestinians-to-cooperate-on-recycling.premium-1.510860

    http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3881005,00.html  This race was subsequently discontinued due to pressure by Palestinian “anti-normalization” groups.

    http://www.saveachildsheart.org/

    * a small, residential outpost located in Gush Etzion

    http://elderofziyon.blogspot.co.il/

    [54] Selected agencies would have to bid on each program as cost is necessarily a factor.

    http://mashav.mfa.gov.il/mfm/web/main/document.asp?SubjectID=35246&MissionID=16210&LanguageID=0&StatusID=0&DocumentID=-1

    http://www.iTalkIsrael.com .

    [57] The Jerusalem Report, April 26, 2010, p. 47.

    His website is www.iTalkIsrael.com.  

     

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