PALESTINE - ISRAEL - JORDAN - SINAI

Off the beaten track tours • Visit sites • Meet locals • Discuss Human Rights & Politics

Getting Towed in Ramallah

What a day! It started off OK. I picked up my friend Tamer in Azariya and drove to Ramallah. As usual the downtown area was chock-a-block with traffic, and I suggested we park before we arrived at the usual gridlock around al-Manarah square. We were lucky. A van pulled out of a spot and I […]

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Review of a Private Tour

by Fred Schlomka – Today I had an interesting group of five visitors from Switzerland. I picked them up at their Tel Aviv hotel in the early morning and proceeded to Route 5, a large four-lane highway which thrusts deep into the West Bank, due east of Tel Aviv. En route we stopped in the […]

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Palestine & Palestinians New Guide Book

This guidebook has been completely updated by the Alternative Tourism Group for the 2008 edition. It’s a real gem. Now available for online purchase. Publishing this Guidebook marks an important turning-point in presenting Palestine to visitors. The ATG (Alternative Tourism Group)  presents the country from the inside. The guidebook covers such key topics as the […]

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Taybeh Oktoberfest 2008

The Taybeh OktoberFest was a great success with thousands of people attending the festivities. The guests included officials from the Palestinian Authority, the United Nations, and diplomats from various embassies. Palestinians came from all over the West Bank and Israel, and a large contingent of Israelis came from Tel Aviv. This was truly a great […]

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On Tour – Gridlock in Ramallah & Flowing Traffic in Nablus

Fred SchlomkaRamadan is now over and the festivities of Eid have concluded. The streets of Ramallah were full of people decked out in their holiday finery for the end of the holiday. Participants in the Ramallah tour last Thursday were surprised to see the varieties of beautiful Hijabs (head coverings) worn by many women, demonstrating […]

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Wall Graffiti in Bethlehem

Fred SchlomkaOne of the most interesting aspects of any Bethlehem tour is seeing the grafitti on the Israeli West Bank Barrier which almost completely surrounds the city. Whether you take a guided tour or a public bus, wandering around the neighborhoods where the wall is ever present is truly a profound experience. The grafitti generally […]

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Palestinian Testimony

Frank Barat spent 5 weeks in Nablus during August and September 2008. During his visit he took video testimony from Palestinians. Franks website contains these videos and links to articles he has written. Interview with Saed Abu Hijeh , Prof. in Political geography at An Najah University, Nablus. He recounts the unprovoked murder of his […]

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Jerusalem settlers in the City of David

Many tours of Jerusalem include a visit to the City of David in the Palestinian Neighborhood of Silwan. This is an important element in understanding the gradual takeover of Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem by Israeli settler organizations. In the case of Silwan, the Elad Foundation was contracted with Israeli government agencies to develop the archeological […]

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Holy Land Tours

Fred SchlomkaA recent article in one of Israel’s leading newspapers, Ha’aretz, was written like a tourist industry press release touting the Israeli Government’s opening of the Jordan River site where Christians believe that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. However the site remains under Israel’s Military Occupation and any economic benefit from pilgrim visits […]

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Israeli Tourism Minister Opens Door

PRESS RELEASE – Israel Ministry of Tourism The Israeli Tourism Minister Ruhama Avraham-Balila recently wrote to the Tourism Ministers of Jordan and the Palestinian Authority “Close cooperation between Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the field of tourism can be a positive force in improving the economy and image of the entire region as […]

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Settler Roads on Ramallah Tour

Fred SchlomkaIt’s amazing how something as banal as roads can become a major political issue. On some of my tours I show the visitors the major four-lane highways that Israel is crisscrossing the West Bank with, for the convenience of settlers. These are contrasted with the small, often steep and narrow roadsbeing built for Palestinians […]

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Taybeh Brewery OKTOBERFEST

Press release by the Taybeh Brewery: Greetings from Taybeh! My husband, the Mayor of Taybeh, David C. Khoury and of all of our local civic organizations ask that you save the dates of Saturday and Sunday, October 11 and 12, 2008 for the 4th Annual Taybeh Oktoberfest With the opening celebration at 11:00 am Oct […]

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