Yes, travel in Palestine is safe. Hospitality is an extremely important value in Palestine, as it is throughout the Mediterranean world. Palestinians welcome visitors with open arms. While it cannot be denied that dangerous situations can arise due to the Israeli Occupation, the risk to international tourists is minimal.
Arab people in general, and Palestinians in particular, have been demonized in the West for decades. They are often presented in the media as dangerous, conniving, and immoral. These stereotypes have been purposely reinforced by the Zionist/Israeli establishment; and the Israeli government has worked hard to prevent international visitors from being exposed to Palestinians and their story of dispossession and occupation. Israel knows that exposure to the present and historical realities of the situation would leave many tourists opposed to Israel's oppressive policies. The famous Israeli general and politician Moshe Dayan was even quoted as saying that he would license a Palestinian to fly a jet fighter before he would license a Palestinian tour guide. As such, Palestinians were prohibited from working as tour guides in the West Bank and Gaza between 1967 and the early 1990s.
We encourage Westerners to reject all stereotypes about Palestinians and to judge them on their own merits.
A special message on safety for Jewish travelers
Many Jews are scared of traveling to Palestine, largely as a result of stereotypes that paint Palestinians a violently anti-Jewish. The suffering that the Palestinian people have been forced to endure at the hands of the country that calls itself the "Jewish state" and claims to represent the world Jewry has, understandably, led many Palestinians to assume that most Jews support their oppression. However, Palestinians live in a highly educated and intellectual society and are perfectly capable of understanding that Judaism and pro-Israeli sentiment do necessarily go hand in hand. Most Palestinians are willing to make it clear that their problems are with the state of Israel and its supporters, and not with Jews or Judaism.
There are certain realities of which visitors must be aware. The Zionist movement turned the Star of David from a religious to a nationalist symbol, which is present on most Israeli military equipment. In other words, the army that has committed numerous war crimes against the Palestinian population over the last 58 years has always used the Star of David as its symbol. The Star is even used by Israeli settlers to aggressively mark territory they intend to steal from Palestinians. In Hebron, for example, settlers paint the star on the doors of Palestinian homes and shops, typically next to racist anti-Arab graffiti. One such piece of graffiti, a picture of which appeared in the Jerusalem Post, reads "Gas the Arabs." Tragically, many Palestinians have never encountered a Jew without a military uniform on and an assault rifle in his hands.
For all of these reasons, Jewish travelers wearing Star of David jewelry, the kippa, or loudly referring to themselves as Jews may be misunderstood to be Israelis and supporters of the Occupation. This is not to say that Israelis are necessarily in danger in Palestine: many Israeli activists work side by side with Palestinians. However, Israelis can be a target of Palestinian militant groups.
Jewish travelers are encouraged to keep all of these details in mind, and to be selective in whom they tell about their heritage. It is our hope that, as more Jews who oppose Israeli policies visit Palestine and make their positions known to Palestinians, this selectiveness will be less necessary. |
