I have been offered a buddy pass to go to Palestine for a 7-10 day visit. My friend has been there for 3 months living with a family and volunteering at an NGO. He's an Irish-American and lets say that I dont exactly pass for a local if i go there.

He has felt perfectly safe (hes a native new yorker) and has high marks to give Palestine. He lives in one of the big cities which, embarsingly, I cannot think of the name of it right now. He knows his way around. We will stay there in that town a few days, then do a bit of traveling around. He says that being with a Palestine family, he is not afraid of Palestininas, but of the Israel Army Teenagers and their massive guns and paranoia.

So, I wouldl ike to hear some opinions, especially of travelers wh have been there. We'll stick to touristy areas. Anybody have advice on things to do or see there? I will be reading a guidebook, so I will get a cl ue about the palce before I go, but I woud like to hear any tipls or advice that folks have. I ate hummus, pita bread and a JAR of olives last night in my excitement for this trip. I made the mistake of telling my mom who is now officially worried I will get blown to bits. I never really wanted to go before, but if i can go for almost-free and stay with a freined, its eems like hard to pass up. Plus, I am interested in the religious aspect of the place, being a practicing Christian.

Palestine is not a tourist destination. The only reason to go there is to 1. Help or 2. Help.
I'm not sure if you're going to Gaza or the W. Bank. In either one I am sure there are things to see of cultural significance, but it is really important to understand the implications of what you are going to do.

If it is Gaza you need to be aware that there are still small skirmishes going on since the incursion a while back. You also need to understand the difference between Hamas and Fatah and why claiming sympathy to one in certain areas could really put you in harms way. Hezbollah's impact as well as the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. You might actually be blown to bits. And not in a Eating-McDonalds-In-Marrakech sort of way...but in a very real sense. It happens all the time.

You also need to understand the poverty and the destitution of these people. Many have lived on rations their whole life. Food, gas, electricity and otherwise. And regardless of how you feel about Israel and it's treatment you are from the West. Chances are your country has or is in collaboration with a government that does support Israel. Dont' expect that to be overlooked because you know your stance.

I would caution against this. Mostly because it's like taking a trip to Darfur. It's a crisis zone. People there are unhappy, restless...and while your friend works as an NGO, which is how he knows the locals (as someone who helps) you are not one and cannot expect to be given the same considerations.

If your interest as a Christian is old world Biblical areas there is a lot to look into in the Middle East. From Istanbul to Petra there is a wealth of safe, stable places to go. Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Egypt. All contain a vast wealth of history...without the human suffering.

I just think if you're going to travel there...at least do some kind of mission. At least bring clothes, or make it a humanitarian issue. Because otherwise it seems like dabbling in misery for no real reason. With no good coming of it.

For the record: I am incredibly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. BUT even speaking fluent Arabic, being Arab and understanding these people's struggles for the past 50 or so years...I would be incredibly hesitant to visit Gaza or the West Bank without any reason.It is a war zone. It is like taking a holiday in Baghdad or Kabul.

It's not that it's impossible. I've met people who have travelled to both Baghdad and Kabul. But there are expeienced travellers we're talking about. With years and years under their belt.
I dont mean this to sound condacending (I really, truley do not) but if you cant even remember the name of the city he works in...you're not serious about understanding the area. If you don't understand what you're up against, and how in particular area local, tribal, and customary habits play into life in a huge way. A lack of that understanding can actually get you killed.

If I was your mom I would not be okay with this. Hell, I wouldn't expect my mom to be okay with this...and she was fine with me traipsing from N. Africa to Turkey. Listen to her. Or, if you are determined to go and nothing will stop you then I implore you to read up and really, really study this area. AND do what you can to bring aid. Allahmaak.

thank you

This is hard for me to admit, but you were right about everything you advised. Looks like we will be sticking to a few days in Haifa to check out the B'hai sites there and a guided tour of some of the Holy Land hotspots. Thank you for your help! I look forward to reporting back here and to getting more travel advice.

It really depends when/where and how you travel.
When I was living in Israel I had a group of friends that went to the Ramallah film festival, and I regularly traveled into the west bank to visit people in various areas.
That being said, you need to pay attention to the news on a daily basis, and I would not recommend travel to Gaza, Bethlehem, Jericho, Nablus or Jenin.
Don't make Palestine your first visit to the middle east, spend time in Israel, Jordan, Egypt--get a sense of what baseline behaviour and attitudes are so that you can be better equipped to know when things don't "feel right" and you can get out safely.

I don't want to sound like the stupid know-it-all guy, and I definitely think there are earlier posters in this thread who knows a lot more than me about the Middle East in general, not to mention travelling in general, than I do.

I am though a bit annoyed at the recurrent depiction of the West Bank as some kind of war zone (I leaving Gaza out here, I would in no way recommend any one to go there if not necessary). I currently live in Betlehem, Palestine, as a part of my arabic studies, and have visited the area once before, traveling around most parts, spending time in the mayor cities as well as in the country side. As part of my work with a peace activism group here I definitively saw some ugly stuff, and was doubtless in a lot of situations my mom wouldn't advise me to get into. BUT, and this is the important part, the West Bank is not like this if you don't "want it" to be. If you want to go here to visit, to understand more, to help in a non-dangerous way, or just se what "it" is like, that is definitively possible.

Not approaching Palestine like any other tourist destination is of course adviseable. Trying to help in some way will probably feel like an obligation if your stay is more than one or two days. I of course also advise anyone going here to study the situation and the question carefully before going, and make sure to know what it is like at the moment. It is very true that it could become dangerous more or less over night. But the situation at the present is not, as long as you don't get into the dangerous stuff (demonstrations etc etc) which of course is also there.

You will NOT be blown up by a suicide bomber. There hasn't been any "successfull" attacks inside Israel (apart from the buldoozer-guy last summer) as far as I've heard, and the jihadists of course doesn't blow themselves up in the West Bank (would be kind of a bad idea blowing up your own people, no?). The same goes for kidnappings. I don't want to say too much here, but I would set the risk of being kidnapped at about zero. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but my feeling is that the idea of there being a risk of being kidnapped in the WB stems from a generall mixing up of different Arab countries. Palestine today is not Iraq today, nor Lebanon in the 80s.

This is not to say that you can't get yourself into trouble. In some places (for example Hebron) some people (mostly children) behave like assholes towards foreigners sometimes. I wouldn't say that I've ever been under any threath from Palestinians, but irritating situations have ocurred. The fact that it is rarely difficult to understand this given the absurd pressure and resulting paranoia people are living with doesn't make it less annoying. But most of the time Palestine is a great place to stay in, filled with some of the most hospitable and genuinely friendly people I've ever met. As long as you behave resonably well and try to understand, they will be more than happy to help you do just that, wheter you are in Nablus, Ramallah, Jericho, Betlehem or Hebron.

The rules are kind of easy: Be nice to people (Salaam 'Aleikum is a good phrase). Don't seem to be a settler and try to show that your not if mistaken for one (answering any "shaloms" with a "w-alaykum as-salaam" or the like). Don't try to impose your pro-Israeli positions on people, if you have such. The last does NOT mean that you can't have a political opinion differing from the person your talking to, just that you should be careful to pay respect the experience of living under occupation which you lack.

Well, this one got a bit too long. Sorry about that.