Tomorrow I will be traveling to Bethlehem for a two-day program with Encounter, an organization which runs group trips for primarily North American Jewish leaders to meet with members of Palestinian civil society. I spoke with the organization’s Middle East program director back in August, but it has taken me until now to have enough of an opening in my schedule to participate.
There is already much that I have learned about the mission of the organization, their mode of engagement, and their attitude toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, I believe that I will have much more interesting things to say and experiences to reflect upon when I return. In the meantime, feel free to peruse their website which is full of explanatory content, media, and other resources.
I’ll be back to write more on Thursday, although please excuse me if it takes a few days to get a full report online. I imagine that there will be a lot to say. Ta ta for now.
Dr. Ariel Zellman 