FAQ

You have three or four opportunities every year to join an Eyewitness Palestine delegation. Standard times for our delegations are late May, late July, and late October. We often add additional delegations at other times of year. Sign up for updates to hear when new opportunities are added.

Yes! Since our inception in 2001, Eyewitness Palestine has made it a goal to help anyone join our delegations. We strive to organize delegations diverse in age, gender, sexual orientation, class, ethnic identity, religious belief, and racial background. We offer scholarships between $500 and $1,500 per person to help offset the delegation's ground fees. Scholarships are first-come, first-served, and we cannot guarantee that every delegation will have scholarships available. When scholarships are available for a delegation, we will announce them and award them on a first-come, first-served basis. Learn more about opportunities for financial aid

We take your safety seriously. We always carefully monitor the situation and are in regular conversation with partners on the ground to make sure we stay up to date on exactly what is happening. Additionally, during the delegation, our Palestinian guide calls ahead shortly before meetings to ensure that the area is safe for travel. Eyewitness Palestine’s itineraries are flexible and, if a safety concern does arise, we are able to shift our schedule.

Where do Eyewitness Palestine delegations stay? Delegations spend most nights in secure rooms in Palestinian-owned hotels. Delegations are based in East Jerusalem, which allows the group to travel from this central point to many areas in the region. Our delegations also spend additional nights in other cites depending on the route and location of the places we visit.

Delegations are led by a local Palestinian tour guide registered with both the Palestinian Authority and the government of Israel. An expert on the religion, geography, history, and politics of Palestine, our guide adds much to the experience. Delegations travel by comfortable, air-conditioned private bus and use routes chosen for convenience and safety. Eyewitness Palestine delegations support the local economy by staying in Palestinian-owned hotels and introducing participants to souvenirs produced by women’s collectives, fair trade cooperatives, refugee associations, and locations that receive less tourism. Eyewitness Palestine has adopted the call for ethical tourism/pilgrimage by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel and the Code of Conduct for Tourism in the Holy Land by the Palestinian Initiative for Responsible Tourism. Our delegations also comply with Palestinian Civil Society’s call for boycott, divestment, and sanctions.

Each delegation is unique, but every trip centers Palestinian voices and grassroots organizing. Delegates meet Palestinian community organizers, farmers, workers, students, refugees and internally displaced people, political prisoners’ families, health and education workers, feminist and queer organizers, artists, journalists, and other movement leaders. Depending on the delegation, you may also meet Israelis and international activists who are resisting apartheid and working in solidarity with Palestinian demands.

Eyewitness Palestine (formerly Interfaith Peace‑Builders) began in 2001 as a program of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the largest and oldest interfaith peace and justice organization in the United States. The Interfaith Peace‑Builders program was created in response to a call from Palestinian and Israeli activists to consistently send delegations to the region. Interfaith Peace‑Builders became an independent 501(c)(3) not‑for‑profit organization in 2006. In 2018, we changed our name to Eyewitness Palestine.