the journey home....

As the OneVoice Glasgow team gave our goodbyes to our travelling companions of the last week; Osama, Julien, Johnthan Ivan & 'handsome John, thanking them for helping make our trip a memorable & enjoyable one, we headed home to Glasgow, Scotland.

Unfortunately our journey home wasn't without incident.

Picked up by a taxi at 02:00, we made our way from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv Airport, when it started to rain, rained turn to thunder & lighting (hardly good news in itself, as we'd soon be in flight) and then 30 miles away from the airport, we blew a tyre (or more accurately the car did).

Although we offered to help our driver was resolute that he needed no aid, till two helpful police officers came to help.

Unfortunately the security at Tel Aviv Airport were not so helpful or swift. In line before check in we were 'randomly selected' for additional questioning, then we were 'randomly selected' to have our luggage opened and searched through, and Hala, David & myself were 'randomly selected' to be taken to private quarters for a damn good frisking and whipping (only joking).

In fairness to the airport security the OVG crew did feel safer as we headed home to bonny Scotland, tired, travel weary but overall more enthused, optimistic, empathetic and richer for the experience.

Thank you for reading our blog.

Gary, Hala, Anthony & David

Day Nine- the final chapter

Our day started early, at Aida, a refugee camp where we were greeted by the site of the world's largest key (symbolising palestinians right to return) as well as a close up of the wall and the previous guard tower... walking through the refugee camp we were struck by sense of community yet the fear of the lack of basic security as the camp and school had previously been targeted by the Israeli forces during the second intifada. As a result, the local UN school had taken the precaution of removing their windows to ensure future safety of their children, even though it meant blocking out the sunlight.

After a presentation and heartfelt goodbyes, the OneVoice van headed onto Ramallah for a meeting with the Palestinian Authority Minister for Public Works & Housing.

The conversation was frank and engaging. Naturally he placed full blame on Israel for the lack of progress in the peace talks, however this was also the consensus of many other less partial speakers that we had met this week. Nontheless he was very encouraging of the vital work that OneVoice youth leaders in Palestine are carrying out.

The final journey in our trip was to Christian holy sites in Bethlehem. Beautiful architecture, inspiring works of art, a sense of unity and wonder, and a slightly cattle-like approach to herding the pilgrims quickly through, it was a slightly anti-climatic end to what had been a very eye opening trip.

So for us internationals, a lot of food for thought. One of the defining features of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the polarization of views on both sides and a lack of willingness to budge from the proverbial ‘armchair’ of each nation’s own narrative.

As four British students, we’ve been privileged this week to see, first hand, an initiative aimed at changing this reality and providing much needed impetus to the stagnating peace process. Hopefully these meetings have provoked and encouraged discussion of these ‘taboo’ issues in Israeli and Palestinian society. The leadership may not be listening yet; however, the voice of the moderate majority will not be silenced.

Gary, Anthony, David, & Hala

Day Eight

With the recent clashes at Al-Aqsa mosque, it was appropriate that our final townhall meeting concerned the holy sites. We were joined by three prominent religious leaders, all of whom agreed that it was, “a [territorial] conflict, not a religious conflict.”

In comparison to the previous two meetings, it was less heated and therefore possibly less effective as we were ‘preaching to the choir’.

After the meeting in Jerusalem, we travelled to Bethlehem where we were joined for dinner by the vice-chancellor of Bethlehem University, who expressed his solidarity with the work of the OneVoice Movement.

(sorry for the lack of blog-ness, we're trying to get it all typed up before we have to get to the airport!)

Day Seven

Salfeet, a Palestinian village in the West Bank, suffers from the continued expansion of settlements surrounding it. Today's townhall meeting was here.

“They want to make our lives a nightmare.” This statement was emblematic of the feeling in the room. The participants were evidently frustrated and angry, but rather animated at the prospect of having an audience of Western ‘ambassadors’, as they saw us.

Several parallels could be drawn between the people of Sderot and Salfeet, in that both felt the other side were unwilling to negotiate, that the whole world was against them, but also that both wanted peace in the direction of a two state solution.

Day Six

After a very pleasant experience with our colleagues at OVP yesterday, we were greeted in Tel Aviv by their Israeli counterparts, at the OneVoice Israel’s (OVI) offices in downtown Tel Aviv.

After warmly exchanging pleasantries, the Glasgow crew were given a presentation by the office staff of OVI.

They talked about their activities (their main aim was to push the two state peace process rather than brand recognition of OV) & their endorsement from high profile public figures such as Tony Blair, Paul McCartney, Jason Alexander (George from Seinfeild), Paul Reise, Craig Newmark, Kina Maztlieck & the Eurovision underated music sensation Mira & Noa from Israel & Palestine.

They explained how they brought OVP Youth Leaders from Ramallah to the University of Tel Aviv. Which was especially significant as Israeli’s are forbidden from entering the West Bank, which makes meeting each other somewhat difficult.

Just like their OVP counterpoints, they left us enthused & inspired with their activities, relentless enthusiasm and their dedication.

We were then joined for lunch by two national celebrities of the polling and peace process world. Video interviews with Dr Mina Tzemach and the former chief negotiator between Israel and Syria will be uploaded at a later junction of time.

Roi, a OVI Youth Leader, kept the OV van entertained with his anecdotes & antics from Brussels, while we took the long road down to Sderot.

We'd had a relaxing morning with our friends at OVI, but we knew Sderot would be more challenging for us all.

Sderot could arguably be viewed as a microcosm of the problems facing the peace process:

Since the 2nd intifada thousands of rockets, fired from Gaza, have landed on Sderot, killing 15 and wounding many more, including young children. So, there we have violence and death. Adding to this microcosm is the disparity between the extremists having the platform, and a lack of voice for moderates. And then there's propaganda - myths, rumours and exaggerations. Evidence of each of these obstacles to peace was, sadly, obvious in Sderot.

Shalom, a representative of Sderot, stood before us in the municipal council's bomb shelter. "My parents came from Yemen in 1902... I have no other country."

He began by describing the history of the area and its inhabitants, who came from all over the Middle East.

They had social economic difficulties, he said, but they could live with those. What they could not tolerate were Qassam rocket attacks, he asserted. We were told that not a single area of Sderot had not been hit. Fortunately there have been very few rocket attacks in the last few months, but the residents of Sderot still feel the threat daily, with the last rocket falling on the 21st October, just a few days ago. It was stated that 70%+ of Sderot's children suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

When presented with stories of innocent human tragedy, like the 2 year old and 4 year old killed whilst playing together in Sderot, one can only feel sympathy for those suffering in such a situation. However, it seemed that the tactics employed by this representative were of political point-scoring, and propaganda. This was unfortunate, as the many genuine fears and facts expressed were somewhat undermined by myths and rumours.

The idea that Gazans had not rebuilt their thousands of destroyed homes since January, simply to show the world a cruel view of Israel, was one example of our speaker's claims. It seems more likely that a lack of resources, due to the blockade of Gaza, is the main reason why people's homes might not have yet been rebuilt.

The plight of Gazans was mentioned once: "They suffer not less than us." However, blame was completely apportioned upon Hamas, with Israel portrayed as innocent, despite January's invasion.

Shalom stated that the solution was to "throw out the terror organisations from Gaza". He didn't have a response when challenged by Anthony, that Hamas was far larger and more significant to Palestinian society than just a 'terror' group.

Similarly, his repeated statements that "Terror is terror" and that "Gazans bring up their children to be militants" failed to acknowledge the violence of the other side, and that it could be suggested that Israeli youths are also highly militarised, given that every Israeli has to serve in the IDF. Some of our group also felt that just as Hamas could be viewed as security for Gaza and terror for Israel, the IDF could be viewed similarly, as security for Israel but terror for Gaza.

Our group was also shown a video produced by the Sderot Media Centre. Again, the feeling of propaganda spoilt what could be a very powerful message. Footage of rocket attacks was shown, children terrified and screaming, buildings damaged. Unedited, these are powerful images and speak volumes about the situation for Sderot's residents. Unfortunately, the video was dubbed with 'Full Metal Jacket' style music, and action movie screen-slamming statistics.

We left the shelter to view a disturbingly-real collection of hundreds of exploded Qassams, kept as a demonstration to politicians of Sderot's plight.

We headed on through Sderot for a hebrew-language Townhall Meeting, arranged by OneVoice Israel. There were plenty of people there, both from OVI and the general public. After a quick snack and conversation with the guests, we headed into the meeting. Those who did not speak hebrew (like us) were sat next to a translator. There were several speakers on different topics, from free-speech, tolerance, media coverage, and finally to the reality of the conflict.

There were a mixed collection of views, attitudes and reactions on show, from both the guest speakers and the public. This variety, and a distinct lack of so much of the reactionary propaganda we had seen earlier, was a welcome relief. We had been concerned that the view of Shalom was the mainstream in Sderot.

One of the first comments on the floor was: "We can tolerate the existence of a Palestinian state" - which, whilst hardly enthusiastic, is nothing less than what OneVoice ask for. OV don't require that people forgive and forget, or even like each other, just that a two-state solution is accepted on the terms of the masses.

There were, however, some statements from a few that were either based on ignorance, fear or both. For example, in reference to Palestinians:

"all they do is terror... every time we give them something they attack... keep kidnapping..."

"who should I talk to, a terror organisation?! They are killing our children in cold blood."

Hope was not lost, however, as there were many optimistic and empathetic contributions, talking about the bloodshed on both sides, and objecting to the insinuations that Palestinians had been rewarded for shelling Israeli land: "I'm not giving them something new, I'm giving it (land) back to them."

All in all, it was an enlightening experience, and left us feeling tired but enthusiastic about the meeting's objective. We were amazed that such an open and broad discussion, in such an emotionally-heightened scenario as Sderot, had been facilitated so well by OneVoice.

Day Five

The first four days had been enthralling, but today was when the real work started. Work doesn’t imply a chore - on the contrary, writing this back at the guesthouse we’re all feeling tired, inspired and dare we say it, a tad optimistic?

Our journey started from Jerusalem to Ramallah where we would encounter our first check point and the separation wall, on the way to meet the leaders of OneVoice Palestine (OVP). Driving alongside the wall reminded us of the tangible effect of this conflict as we passed through Beit Hanan; an area which had been sliced in half and where many families were faced with a new barrier to getting on with their daily routines. This included simple things we take for granted like easy access to going to school, their local doctors or even visiting the bank.

Half an hour later we had entered the busy atmosphere of Ramallah and were explained to the difference in the colour of car registration plates. Israeli plates were yellow and Palestinian were white/green. This difference was significant in highlighting that the Palestinian plates could not pass through check points Israel.

Once we arrived at the OVP offices, we were greeted by some enthusiastic youth leaders and briefed about their work over some delicious hummous and falafel. Their passion and dedication was apparent whilst explaining what events they had organised and participated in, such as a role play peace negotiation simulations. In this event, Israelis had to act as the Palestinian negotiations and vice versa. Their main focus was targeted at reaching and representing the youth in their communities. One leader expressed how OneVoice had not only helped him to amplify his voice but had given him the opportunity to learn about his rights, the Geneva and Oslo accords, and given him a wider understanding of Palestinian history.

We’d been told previously to expect an inspiring and committed bunch of people from OneVoice in Nablus, and our hopes were not dashed. It wouldn’t be hard to lose hope, even as a day-tripper, in the West Bank. Sprawling refugee camps, the growth of illegal settlements, and the internal clashes between Hamas and Fatah, do not make optimism easy. We were privilledged, however, to be in the company of 20 or so ‘reasons to be cheerful’ (blame Anthony for that phrase) - the OneVoice youth leaders in Nablus are simply brilliant.

Sitting around a table in a Nablus café, with a shinning mountainous backdrop, we listened to these young people explain what brought them to OneVoice, what they’ve achieved so far, and what drives them to carry on. We’ll cover this a lot more easily in our video diary (coming soon!) but the discussion involved:

· Their support for a 2-state solution, and how they see it as the best option for Palestinian rights, as well as Palestinian-Israeli cohesion

· They were curious to know how Palestinians are perceived abroad

· What they want from UK students, not just protests, but real change that makes a difference to the lives of Palestinians

· The impact of Israel’s invasion of Gaza

Politics aside, it was Palestinians and OneVoice advocates, it’s easy to forget that these are also just normal young people, who love music, sport and, well, normal ‘stuff.’ In fact, we got a great impromptu Syrian song from one guy, who has insisted that the video recording go up on YouTube, it’ll be up nest week.

We were practically dragged from this gathering by our driver, as time had flown by and we were already late and we were already late for our next stop. A 2 hour trip unfortunately delayed by road works led us to Jericho to meet Palestinian Youth Leaders (PYL) for coffee and cake before quickly leaving to Ramallah.

As 8o’clock approached a travel weary and hungry OneVoice group were more than grateful to arrive at El Darna restaurant, a popular hangout for the highest echelons of the Palestinian political elite.

Greated by the President of the Al-Quds bank, the OneVoice group sat down to break bread and have supper with OVP colleagues we’d met during the course of the day, as well as a few new ones like, Rami Rabagah, a charismatic, likeable and well spoken youth leader from Jenin.

Feeling fully contented and ready to call it a night, the OneVoice Europe crew headed home to get some R&R whilst mulling over the day with some Shisha and Palestinian beer.

Day Four

Our last morning in Jaffa saw us awake for sunrise and take a farewell walk to absorb some of the sights and sounds, such as the miraculous floating tree, which shall be depicted in photo-form for you soon!

Having enjoyed our stroll, but thoroughly regretting our 5AM start we went back to bed before being woken by an agitated hostel manager at 11 o'clock, given that this was their checkout time.

With our suitcases filled, David very helpfully hailed the most expensive and pushy taxi driver in the Middle East. After debating (or rather being talked at) about the jumbo-sized price, we settled for what we knew was about double the normal amount. This driver also demonstrated his people-skills, staring daggers at a fellow driver who happened to commit the crime of asking for directions. We can only speculate, whether this reaction was because the enquiry came from an Arab...

Skipping forward in time a few hours finds us wandering the streets and multi-storey carparks (yes, really) of Jerusalem. After an hour of walking we finally reached our guesthouse, and with it, a stunning and sobering view of Jerusalem, the 'Holy City'. To the West, the ancient walls of the old city, home to some of the world's most famous religious monuments. To the East, the grey monolith that divides the West Bank from Israel, aka the separation wall. A sobering sight, indeed, and a constant reminder of the conflict that brings us here.

Not that you can escape the nuances of the conflict that easily. On our first walk from the Old City to Sheikh Jarrah, in the East, we encountered:

• A group of haredi Jews being verbally assaulted in Arabic from a car window
• 2 Israeli soldiers asserting their authority by stealing pizza from a takeaway
• and a micro-settlement

The latter was on the site of a former Palestinian home, that had been demolished by the IDF. A single Israeli home, in this neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem, has now been erected in its place, complete with its own on-site security office next door. Sheikh Jarrah has been the focus of much news attention lately, due to these house demolitions - we hope to explore this for ourselves later on in the week.

And that's about the end of our first day in Jerusalem, having barely scratched the surface of this place. Tomorrow we head East to the West Bank, we'll let you know how that goes.

Best wishes from Jerusalem!

- Anthony, Gary, Hala and David