Being in some of the actual places most impacted by the conflict with one's actual body, feelings and self along with a cohort of incredibly thoughtful, passionate Jews who know a lot about the conflict and care deeply about Jews, Israel and the conflict itself, allows for an encounter with living history deeper than any panel, essay, sermon, or organizing session ever could.
David S. Koffman
Assistant Professor of History, Israel & Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies, York University
The opportunity to build relationships and process this intense experience with colleagues and new friends feels essential and a gift.
Rabbi Deborah Waxman
President, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College/Jewish Reconstructionist Communities
The Encounter experience was such a powerful reminder of the importance of face-to-face interaction. After listening to and learning from actual Palestinian human beings, it’s impossible to revert to grand pronouncements about ‘the Palestinians’ as an undifferentiated, homogenous collective: They’re just as complex, multi-dimensional, thoughtful, and fallible as the rest of us. What a gift to be reminded of that elusive truth in this era of insidious generalizations.
Aaron Dorfman
President, Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah
This is an intense trip that quickly immerses you in narratives of Palestinians that are mostly hidden to Jews living in Israel. You will have access to unvarnished insights that will deepen your understanding of the Palestinian narrative and broaden your understanding of the conflict. You will have the chance to ask hard questions and to struggle deeply with colleagues about the challenges you witness. All of this in a deeply supportive environment.
Rabbi Elliott Tepperman
Rabbi, Bnai Keshet, New Jersey
So important to put faces and images to labels we read about. So important to humanize those often pitted as our enemies. So important to do so with Jews in a context of Ahavat Yisrael.
Rabbi David Wolkenfeld
Senior Rabbi, Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel
