Program in Palestine for Rønningen School students, 6th - 15th November 2017

Category: Students Exchange Programs Created: 16 November 2017

See more photos of the visit

ronn2017 3tjpgA program in Palestine was organized from the 6th to the 15th of November 2017 for a group of 16 students and their teacher from our partner YMCA-YWCA Norway related Rønningen Folk High School.

The program included olive picking at threatened fields for two days, guided tours in the Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jericho, Jerusalem, and Hebron areas to witness the Israeli apartheid wall, settlements, checkpoints, closures, Israeli settlers' bypass roads inside the West Bank, and other various Israeli occupation measures against Palestinians.

ronn2017 1tThe students were briefed about the ongoing Israeli  displacement of Palestinians, the Palestinian popular resistance, JAI' Olive Tree Campaign, and the Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions (BDS) Campaign. Visits and meetings were organized to the YMCA Beit Sahour, YWCA Jericho and kindergarten, Aida Refugee camp were they also met and toured inside the camp with refugees youth, Nabi Saleh village, Bethlehem University, Lutheran priest in Beit Sahour were they attended the service, and other religious and historic sites.

ronn2017 2tGuided tours were also arranged in Hebron old city, at the Israeli checkpoint with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) team, and in Jerusalem with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolition (ICAHD).

Future plans and advocacy initiatives were discussed for the students to get involved in post the visit.