Over the years, Encounter alumni have requested oppor­tu­ni­ties for repeated visits to the West Bank to explore more Palestinian cities and ask more ques­tions of Palestinian communal leaders. As part of our commit­ment to our alumni commu­nity to continue fostering oppor­tu­ni­ties to deepen our learning and engage­ment with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we are pleased to announce that appli­ca­tions are now being accepted for our first advanced Encounter trip to East Jerusalem and its suburbs for alumni only.

This day-long East Jerusalem trip will feature Palestinian speakers with rele­vant expe­ri­ence who will pry open topics such as the E1 area, educa­tion, citi­zen­ship and resi­dency, access and move­ment, and more. It will provide oppor­tu­ni­ties to ask ques­tions and enable alumni to probe more deeply into subjects that may have only surfaced on an intro­duc­tory level during a first trip with us, as well as oppor­tu­ni­ties to engage with other Jewish leaders who are grap­pling with these same issues.

When: The trip will take place on Friday, January 11, 2013. We will begin at 7:00am in Jerusalem and end by 3:15pm in Jerusalem (please note we will end a hour before candle lighting — we encourage you to make your Shabbat plans in advance).

The program includes:

• Presentations by respected Palestinian leaders and resi­dents of East Jerusalem and its suburbs exam­ining the major issues at play in the East Jerusalem area such as the E1 area, resi­dency and citi­zen­ship, access and move­ment, educa­tion and the economy.
• Tours of impor­tant geographic areas.
• Confidential, facil­i­tated dialogue within the Jewish group.
• Informal conver­sa­tion with resi­dents of the suburbs of East Jerusalem.

Cost: 125NIS, with schol­ar­ships avail­able based on need.

The program will take place in Areas B and C of Jerusalem, where it is legal for indi­vid­uals with Israeli citi­zen­ship to enter.

Space is limited. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Click here to apply online. The appli­ca­tion dead­line is Wednesday, January 2.

We look forward to receiving your appli­ca­tion! Questions are welcome. Please email amy@​encounterprograms.​org.