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My time in Palestine (requested post)

Mrfreddygoodbud said:
niiiicce....

but bruh you aint do the mud thing then float in the dead sea, bruh my skin was lookin radiant as a fuck after that...

also did you notice how fuckin dirty that beach in tel aviv was...

anyway Nazereth was the place I thought was the most beautiful... had some shit call st peters fish dope..

and you are right.. they really racist out there but once they know you from america they switch up, the older jewish folk couldnt tell, but the younger ones could...

I was online going into a club and this lady was takin money and stamping hands.. she looked at me with her ol racist jewish wrinkly face and shook her head no...

the club manager or some dude quickly walked over looked at me and smiled and escorted me in... then went back out and said something to the racist hag...

nice lil trip report look forward to reading the rest....
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Everyone in my group did the mud thing except me and the host. I was in pain they day though and struggled to get down those stairs that lead to the beach. I was hiding a limp. That long ass flight did me in. I was good the day of, but felt that shit the next day.

And you're so right about their racism magically disappearing when they find out you're from the states. I had some issues with IDF soldiers who backed down once they saw that blue passport.
 
TheFuser said:
When I got to Ben Gurion Airport I was greeted on the jetway by an IDF soldier with a machine gun. Like, not IN the terminal, on the jetway as soon as I stepped foot off the plane. She couldn’t have been anymore than 19 years old and just looked at me said, “Come on over here” like, “Nigga, you know what it is.” There was only one other black person on my flight (my layover was in Moscow -- sidenote, NEVER fly Aeroflot) and the other IDF soldier on the jetway detained her. She asked me a series of questions including if I knew the sista who was also detained. She asked me that like 5 times. Totally didn’t believe me.

When I got in the terminal walking toward immigration, I got stopped by another soldier who checked my passport and asked me the same series of questions the first girl did. At immigration, the same series of questions. They inspected my passport like crazy to see where else I’d been. (side note, one of the people in our delegation got detained for a few hours because he’d been to Egypt). Israel does what the US wants to do. The US is still sneaky (relatively) with their profiling, but Israel is blatant and gives NO FUCKS.
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Interesting.. I've made 5 trips to Israel in the past 4 months (7 in the last year), and not once was there IDF on the jetway. I don't see anyone until the passport control line. I always fly direct from Newark or the new flight from Dulles.

Now, I was stopped and searched entering Ben Gurion from the train while walking next to my white co-worker (they ain't say shit to him)

My wife made the trips with me last year and people were looking at her funny. She could pass for Ethiopian.
 
a1rimrocka said:
Interesting.. I've made 5 trips to Israel in the past 4 months (7 in the last year), and not once was there IDF on the jetway. I don't see anyone until the passport control line. I always fly direct from Newark or the new flight from Dulles.

Now, I was stopped and searched entering Ben Gurion from the train while walking next to my white co-worker (they ain't say shit to him)

My wife made the trips with me last year and people were looking at her funny. She could pass for Ethiopian.
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I was the only one out of our delegation stopped on the jetway. But they flew in from different places. I was wondering if it was extra security since our flight came from Moscow. But they only stopped me and the sista though. There was also hella security in the terminal leading to customs though.
 
ugk said:
I would love to visit Palestine without spending a dime in Israel
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Bro, this. And it can be done. Our guides were Palestinian. The restaurants we ate at were Palestinian owned. The shops we bought souvenirs from were Palestinian owned. The only thing that was Israeli owned was the hotel we stayed in in Haifa, and that's because the Palestinian hotel that they normally use was booked up for the daters we were gonna be there. We spent NO TIME in Tel Aviv. Cant even tell you what that city looks like except the airport and skyline.
 
The Nakba
Before I get back into trip, let me give some background information for those who arent familiar with what’s going on one of the most important, and horrific things that did occur, and is occuring, The Nakba. Nakba is an Arabic word that translates to “Catastrophe.” In 1948, many Palestinians fled their homes and lands as war was ravaging. Once the war was over, they were not allowe back into their homes and lands. The lands were stolen and redistributed to Jewish settlers. Over 700,000 Palestinians were not, and have not been allowed to return at the time. Today, over 7 Million Palestinians are living as refugees around the world as a result of the Nakba (refugee defined as those who were expelled and their descendants). This is referred to as the Nakba by Palestinians and their allies. Oddly enough, an American jewish person who's never been to the middle east has more claim over the land than a Palestinian who had the land stolen from them.

One of the biggest fights in the conflict between the state of Israel and Palestinians is the right to return for Palestinians expelled. Israel won’t allow the “Right to Return” because that would make Jews the minority in “Israel.” It’s seriously a numbers game, and it’s apartheid when you break it down. Palestinians who reside in the green line, or 48, are considered Israeli Arabs (Palestinians detest the term) and are counted. They have some rights, including the right to move about, and to vote. Palestinians in the West Bank are not counted toward the population and are considered under military occupation. This is important for a few reasons. One, because people in the West Bank are under military law and go to military courts if they break the law. Two, they are also protected by international laws as they are occupied. Which means when Israel demolishes their homes, they’re committing war crimes according to international law. When Israel takes their land, it’s a war crime. When settlers move on to their land, it’s a war crime. When Palestinians in the West Bank are displaced, it’s a fucking war crime. But the United Nations doesn’t do shit because the West needs and uses Israel as a military outpost. It’s fucking disgusting.

Of note, the numbers game is why they started allowing Ethiopian jews into Israel. Ethiopian Jews are treated as second class citizens, but they're needed for their voting numbers. This month an Israeli cop shot and killed a Black Jew in Haifa and there were "Black Lives Matter" protests in the city. I have mixed feelings about them using that phrase. But that's another story.

Sidenote, if any of my numbers or dates are off, please feel free to let a brotha know and add to the discussion.
 
c6lXm2R.jpg


This was street art on a wall in a refugee camp in Bethlehem. It's family names of those expelled from their lands because of the Nakba.
 
TheFuser said:
Bro, this. And it can be done. Our guides were Palestinian. The restaurants we ate at were Palestinian owned. The shops we bought souvenirs from were Palestinian owned. The only thing that was Israeli owned was the hotel we stayed in in Haifa, and that's because the Palestinian hotel that they normally use was booked up for the daters we were gonna be there. We spent NO TIME in Tel Aviv. Cant even tell you what that city looks like except the airport and skyline.
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Good looks man, I'd probably do the same thing, fly into Ben Gurion and make a bee line straight for Palestine.

I'd just worry about them IDF refusing entry and have me end up wasting money
 
ugk said:
Good looks man, I'd probably do the same thing, fly into Ben Gurion and make a bee line straight for Palestine.

I'd just worry about them IDF refusing entry and have me end up wasting money
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Pro tip... Do not, under any circumstances tell the folks at Customs/Immigration that you have plans on going to the West Bank. When they ask where you're going, tell them Jerusalem , Nazareth, Haifa... Not and never Ramallah, or Bethlehem. Tell them you're a Christian there to see the sites.

Once you're thru with your visa, you're good to go. They can't deny you entrance through the checkpoints because it's not illegal for us to visit the West Bank.
 
Akka or Acre or Akko

Different people spell the city differently, but the Palestinians I was around spelled it Acca or Akka. Akka is on the Meditteranean north of Haifa heading toward the Golan Heights and about 10 or so miles from the Lebanon border. It was absolutely beautiful. Had some of the best seafood I’ve ever had. Though not in 48 (or the green line as some call it… which is fancy for saying “Not the West Bank or Gaza”), it has a strong Palestinian presence and the Zionist are trying to fuck that all up. They make rules to take their property and redistribute it. One such rule has been playing heavy in the news lately in Jerusalem. What happens is, let’s say you get married, and you wanna expand the structures on your property. You gotta get permits to do it. Which is no different than the states. The difference is, 90-95% of the requested permits are DENIED. And that’s done on purpose. So you can’t expand on your own property. So if you grow your family, tough! So Palestinians who need to do it, do it anyway. And if/when they’re caught, Israel demolishes EVERYTHING, not just the expanded part, and sends the Palestinians the demolishing bill. That’s happening a lot in Akka right now because the land is lush and Zionist want it for expansion.

One of the dopest and most humbling things I saw during the trip happened in Akka. We were touring when we ran into this woman our organizer knows. He’d interviewed her before. She’s a Palestinian American who was born and raised in the States because her father wasn’t allowed back into Palestine after the Nakba. He was with her. It was his first time back in his homeland since 1948. Seventy fucking years. Homie is 80 years old (and doesn’t look a day over 65) and walked around Akka in tears. Happy to be visiting his home. Sad to see his home in occupation. All I could think of was, 70 fucking years. 70!

There are high walls bordering the Mediteranean in Akka. And it’s a rite of passage for the teenaged boys to dive off the wall into the deep water. Our guide asked if I was down to do it. Kindly let him know I was not. I strongly recommend visiting Akka in the north if/when you visit Israel Palestine.
 
I'm trying to find the pics I took in Akka. I lost a lot of the pics I took because I had to delete/hide them for when I went back through security in Tel Aviv in case they took my phone. Which they do. They took one of my friend's phone and laptop on a previous trip then mailed it to him weeks later. Like a smart man, he threw both of those shits away when he got it back. No one should keep electronics the Israeli intelligence keeps and examines. Gimme some time to see if I can find those jawns
 
I dont understand Blacks infatuation with Isreal,I'd rather visit Iran. But hey opinions are like ass holes
 
RUDY RAYYY MO said:
I dont understand Blacks infatuation with Isreal,I'd rather visit Iran. But hey opinions are like ass holes
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All the black folks we saw there (aside from us) were Pilgrims visiting the sites. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Church of the Nativity, Via Dolorosa, the Western Wall, etc. It was weird as some older folks would walk up to us like, "Welcome home!" And all I could think of is how it was land that didn't belong to us, or the Israeli occupants.

Going to Iran is a whole different ballgame I'd imagine. Definitely a different visa process. You get your visa at immigration if you're a US citizen flying into Tel Aviv. The other way folks go is through Jordan. Lot's of Palestinian Americans who can't get through Tel Aviv will go that way to visit. A friend of mine who is a US citizen, but father was born in Egypt had to do that too.
 
Jaffa (pronounced Yaffa)

So we spent zero time in Tel Aviv… on purpose. Because fuck that place. We did however spend some time in Jaffa, which is an ancient port city directly south of Tel Aviv (it’s technically a under Tel Aviv municipal rule). There used to be a robust Palestinian population in Jaffa, but just like most places, the Palestinian population was forced into one fenced off area (amazes me how they don’t see the irony of forcing people into ghettoes, but whatever). Many were forced to move to other areas because Israel didn’t allow them to make repairs or expansions to their houses/land so shit fell into disarray, and they weren’t allowed to do anything. Or, if they did do it and said fuck Israel and their laws, their shit got demolished.

The city itself is picturesque. And I had to keep reminding myself to not enjoy it too much since it was occupied land. We had a Palestinian tour guide who was dope and super infomative about the history of the city, but the thing that stuck out most about his guide was Israeli citizens kept sneaking into our group and staring at him and what he was saying to try to intimidate him. So I started taking photos of them, and then they’d leave. Pussy shit.

The dopest part of Jaffa was meeting with the poet Dareen Tatour. Dareen went to jail for writing a fucking POEM and posting it on Facebook. One of the reasons you don’t see many viral posts from Palestinians is they can go to jail for writing about the occupation. The crime is called “Incitement.” The law is supposed to apply to everyone, but only Palestinians are arrested for it. Israel said the usage of the word “martyr” in the poem is what caused her arrest. However, lost in translation is the word doesn’t mean what we’ve come to learn in English. When we think martyr with regards to Arabs, we think of suicide bombers. But Palestinians use the word in it’s traditional sense, anyone who dies for their belief. So in essence, any death of Palestinians at the hands of the IDF is a martyrdom.

The poem referenced the execution of Hadil Hashlamou in Hebron, which caused a big stir in the international media. Hadil was murdered by the IDF after being accused of charging at an IDF soldier with a knife while she was on her way to school. The issue with that is, she had just passed through a metal detector seconds prior to that. IDF posted pictures of a knife (planted says most), but eyewitnesses say she didn’t have a knife. She was being told to go back through the checkpoint and was just tired that day. Didn’t listen to the IDF. So they shot her in the leg. Then another leg. And when a Palestinian ambulance came to take her to the hospital, the IDF shoulders threw a stun grenade at them. 40 minutes later, after laying out in the open (shades of Mike Brown) an Israeli ambulance showed up and took her to a hospital that didn't have a trauma unity. She bled out and died.

Dareen was amazing to meet. Super humble spirit. Happy to be free after years of dealing with the craziness but still not bucking at the occupants pressure. Her case created such an international uproar, Israel placed her on house arrest. HOWEVER, not her house. Not her parents or family house. A random house in Tel Aviv. And she wasn’t allowed to be there alone. So family had to constantly be there with her. Almost all of them lost their jobs because of the commute back and forth to Tel Aviv (Palestinians aren’t allowed to live there).

Honestly, as a writer who teaches teens to use their voice to stand up against what they think is wrong, that case struck me. It was a “shit just got real” moment for me. Israel really is what the US wants to be. If the US could get away with the INCITEMENT laws, they would. That pesky Constitution gets in the way (Israel doesn’t have a Constitution… on purpose).

Other than the guide and Dareen, what I remember most was walking around the city and white people kept trying to talk to me. But it was more fetishized than anything. People trying to sneak video of our group, etc. Caught one guy driving by recording us, so I started recording him, recording us, and he got pissed. The fucking irony of it all.
 
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TheFuser said:
Going to Iran is a whole different ballgame I'd imagine. Definitely a different visa process. You get your visa at immigration if you're a US citizen flying into Tel Aviv. The other way folks go is through Jordan. Lot's of Palestinian Americans who can't get through Tel Aviv will go that way to visit. A friend of mine who is a US citizen, but father was born in Egypt had to do that too.
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Also important to note thats it's nearly impossible to get into Iran (and other neighboring countries) if they find out you've visited Israel.

Israel gives the paper slips to tourists now which makes it easier but you can still be denied entry. I have 2 Israeli visas stamped in my passport so I'd have to get a new book to even think about visiting Iran.
 
Khan al-Ahmar Bedouin Village

Most of our group had departed back to the states and we dropped off our overall guide at the checkpoint leading to Ramallah, and the bus/van took the rest of us back to Jerusalem where we checked back into a hotel. The host had been dying to go to this hillside restaurant in the West Bank between Jerusale and Bethlehem. We took taxis to the spot, and the food was fucking amazing. I have pics of the view somewhere. I’ll find them and post.

While we were at the restaurant, the host decided he wanted to go to Khan al-Ahmar to speak with the people there. At the time, I had no fucking idea what it was, but I’m always with the shits. I asked him what it was, and he explained it was a Bedoiun village (remember we met those Bedouin folks who were excited to meet us in Haifa… different village though). The word Bedoiun translates loosely to “Desert Dweller” and Bedouins are nomadic people who stretch from North Africa, across the Arabian Peninsula and up through Palestine and beyond. Why Khan al-Ahmar is so well known is they made international news in 2018. Years prior they were forced to leave their lands in the South by Israelis who wanted their land for settlers. It’s considered a war crime by the Geneva Convention to relocate people in occupied territory. The world did nothing. In 2018, in the land they were moved to, they applied for permits to build a school. Israel denied the permits (because they always do). The citizens of Khan al-Ahma built the school anyway…. OUT OF MUD AND TIRES!!! When Israel found out, they scheduled the school and the entire village for demolition and for them to be relocated further north (more war crimes) to land near a garbage dump.

When we told the taxi drivers where we wanted to go, they looked at us confused. But they took us anyway. Khan al-Ahmar is in the middle of the desert between Jerusalem and Jericho. Literally on the road to Jericho. The taxi drivers dropped us off in the middle of nowhere and stayed with their cars. We crossed the highway and walked up to the village, which is completely off the grid. No running water, and they’re not on the electric grid. The little electricity they do have is from donated solar panels.

As we walked up the road leading to the village. Kids were outside playing. They signaled for the adults, and soon an elder walked up to us. Our host explained who we were, and why we were there, and the elder was happy to welcome us in his village. He showed us around and told us their story. Showed us the school, and honestly, it was fucking basic, but GENIUS! Fucking GENIUS! The really built buildings out of mud and used rubber tires as stairs (etc).

The elder took us to a humongous tent where dozens of men were sleeping. Another few dozen men were making prayer. We sat as they prayed and they offered us coffee. The sun was going down and the elder explained that the men of the village have to sleep in waves so there are always people protecting the village. According to them, IDF soldiers sneak into their village at night and wreck shit. He also explained that two Israeli settler villages were built flanking Khan al-Ahmar (yet another war crime) and that’s the real reason they want their land. They want to be able to link the settlements together and perhaps build another.

We stayed until it got dark. Talked to the kids. Talked to the elders. Talked to random people. To get their story. None of them asked anything of us, except to tell their story. Was sad to leave them to be honest. They told us to watch out for IDF soldiers on our way back to the taxis.
 
So this is the hillside restaurant I was talking about. The food was fucking OD GOOD! And they gave us A LOT! I'm not quite sure where we were, or the name of the restaurant, but I'll find out if folks are headed that way. I just remember it close to the checkpoint between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

sPniOZg.jpg
 

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