This week we finish the last semester of the tour guide program at the Bethlehem Bible College.  With twenty Palestinian students I have been studying for two years to get the tour guide diploma. This diploma will allow us to apply for the exam of the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism. If we pass that exam then we will become licensed tour guides.

In this episode you can listen to our program manager and teacher Haytham Dieck and ten of the tour guides students who are graduating from the Bible College.  They tell you about their favorite places to visit in Palestine and their passion for the history and heritage of their country. Most of the conversations with the students were recorded during a walk around Bethlehem.

We hope that soon it will be possible again for individual tourists to come and visit Palestine. If YOU are interested to visit us, write an e-mail if you want help to plan your visit or if you would like to register for a (tailor-made) program. We are hopeful that several people will join in the end of October for the olive harvest season and it would be great to get a group of travelers together to organize some tours and activities.

You can send an email to: [email protected]
or connect on social media.

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, follow the YouTube channel and sign up for the weekly e-mail. You can find all the links in the linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Storiesfrompalestine

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In June 2020 the town of Beit Sahour was recognized by the World Craft Council as the World Craft City for the year 2020 based on its long tradition of olive wood carving. The World Craft Council is a UNESCO-affiliated organization that was founded in New York in 1964 to promote and support craft work.

Palestinian olive wood carving probably dates back to the Crusader time and is artisan work that was taught from father to son.

Most of the olive wood industry is at least partially mechanized now but there are still olive wood artists who spend weeks working on one piece, by hand, with lots of characteristics and details that could never be done by a so-called copy machine.

Elias Abu Zuluf from Beit Sahour has his own olive wood workshop and souvenir shop. In this podcast interview he talks about the characteristics of olive wood, how this local tradition came about, what kind of olive wood is used, what type of carvings you can find in Palestine and how Covid19 affected the wood workers in Palestine.

If you are interested to visit his website and see the olive carving go to www.zuluf.com and order online with the "15 off" promo code.

Follow Stories from Palestine podcast on Facebook and Instagram and sign up for the mailing list. If you want to make a donation you can do that on Go Fund me (creditcard) or on Ko-fi (PayPal or Stripe) All the links can be found here:
https://linktr.ee/Storiesfrompalestine

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, sign up for the newsletter, read more about traveling to Palestine and if you can, please support the podcast on Ko-fi. All the links can be found here: https://linktr.ee/storiesfrompalestine

Support the podcast with a donation: https://ko-fi.com/storiesfrompalestine

A lot of things are happening in Palestine. In the previous episode you could hear from seven Palestinians from different parts of Palestine what was happening in Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem, the Aqsa mosque, in Gaza and the Westbank.

On Tuesday 18 May all Palestinians in the Westbank, Jerusalem and the 48 lands (the current State of Israel) went on national strike. This was the first time since 1936 when the whole country went on strike to protest the British Mandate policies of supporting the Zionist movement, that all Palestinians united. And this sense of unity is very important and is felt by all Palestinians.

This podcast is an update on what is happening on the ground. We hear from Nader who is in Gaza city about the continuous strong bombings of the Gaza strip by Israel. Yazan from Bethlehem tells us about the importance of the strike and the protests in the Westbank. From the 48 lands we have an update from Ramy in Jaffa and from Aya in Lydd about the participation in the strike and the police brutality and settler violence against Palestinians. Waseem, the famous vet (dogtor) in Jerusalem talks about his experiences joining the protest in Jerusalem and getting tear gassed and shot at. Sanad from Nablus, whom you know from the podcast about hiking and climbing, lost his cousin, who was shot in the heart, near Nablus.
Alina is in Poland spending three days at the Parliament in Warsaw to raise awareness and lobby the parliament to take a stance against Israel's crimes.

If you want to support the podcast, if you want to get on the mailing list or follow the podcast on social media then use this link: https://podspout.app/storiesfrompalestine

Tips to read and watch more:

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (Ilan Pappe)
My father was a freedom fighter (Ramzy Baroud)
I saw Ramallah (Mourid Barghouti)
In search of Fatima (Ghada Karmi)
Palestinian walks (Raja Shehadeh)
Mornings in Jenin (Susan Abulhawa)
One Country (Ali Abunimah)
The Israel lobby and American foreign policy (John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt)
The general's son (Miko Peled)

More book tips:
https://www.palestineportal.org/resource-directory/by-medium/books-and-films/

For films check out this link:
https://www.palestineportal.org/resource-directory/by-medium/films/

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, follow the YouTube channel and sign up for the weekly e-mail. You can find all the links in the linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Storiesfrompalestine

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, sign up for the newsletter, read more about traveling to Palestine and if you can, please support the podcast on Ko-fi. All the links can be found here: https://linktr.ee/storiesfrompalestine

Support the podcast with a donation: https://ko-fi.com/storiesfrompalestine

This week a lot of things happened and shifted in Palestine. It started with the Israeli restrictions imposed on Palestinians in Jerusalem during the month of Ramadan. In the same time there were protests to support the Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood who are threatened to be evicted from their homes by settler organizations supported by the Israeli forces. The Israeli forces also attacked the worshipers at the Aqsa mosque and for several days they used full force and a lot of violence to remove the people from the Aqsa compound. Then the resistance in the Gazastrip responded with rockets. And Israel started bombing the Gaza strip. In the meantime inside the 48 lands (the current State of Israel) the Palestinians were protesting and the response by the Israeli forces was to use a lot of violence. Another scary development is that mobs of Israeli settlers started roaming the cities of Palestinians inside 48 lands and marking the houses of Palestinians and attacking them on the streets and in their homes.

In this podcast episode you can hear voices from Jaffa, Lydd, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Tequa and Gaza about the situation and context of what is happening right now.

If you want to follow some reliable sources check out these:
https://www.972mag.com/
https://www.middleeasteye.net/
https://mondoweiss.net/

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, follow the YouTube channel and sign up for the weekly e-mail. You can find all the links in the linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Storiesfrompalestine

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, sign up for the newsletter, read more about traveling to Palestine and if you can, please support the podcast on Ko-fi. All the links can be found here: https://linktr.ee/storiesfrompalestine

Support the podcast with a donation: https://ko-fi.com/storiesfrompalestine

My friend Rosemary, who is French and also married to a Palestinian, invited us to join an afternoon hike followed by an iftar, to break the fasting during this month of Ramadan, organized by the Palestinian Association for Mountain Sports Development (PAMSD). I took my recorder along and on the way I talked to two of the organizers and tour guides and several of the participants about how hiking and climbing is becoming more and more popular among Palestinians. There are several initiatives that organize hikes and climbing and with PAMSD you can also practice in their indoor climbing hall in Bethlehem. I am going to add some links here to the initiatives mentioned in the podcast. Check them out and follow them so that in future visits to Palestine you can join their activities!

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, follow the YouTube channel and sign up for the weekly e-mail. You can find all the links in the linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Storiesfrompalestine

PAMSD on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PalestineClubPAMSD
PAMSD on Instagram: https://instagram.com/palestineclubformountainsport

Tales of Roots on facebook

To the Moon on facebook (hiking, climbing and camping)

Palestinian heritage trail on facebook
https://phtrail.org/

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, sign up for the newsletter, read more about traveling to Palestine and if you can, please support the podcast on Ko-fi. All the links can be found here: https://linktr.ee/storiesfrompalestine

Support the podcast with a donation: https://ko-fi.com/storiesfrompalestine

We are half way the month of Ramadan and the previous two episodes were related to this month of fasting for Muslims. Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. In this episode we speak about the other four pillars of Islam, about the history of Islam and some of the important traditions and believes of Muslims.

I worked on this episode also as part of my tour guide studies. We had a semester with Dr. Barakat Al Qasrawi about the history of Islam and the religious practices. Instead of preparing for the final exam in Arabic, which was a bit out of my league, I prepared this podcast episode in which I share what I learned from him and the sources he shared with me in English.

In this episode you will also hear my daughter Louisa pronouncing some of the verses in Arabic.

If you want to know more about Sufism then you can listen to episode 2 of season 2.
Or click here to find it on the Buzzsprout site

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, follow the YouTube channel and sign up for the weekly e-mail. You can find all the links in the linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Storiesfrompalestine

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, sign up for the newsletter, read more about traveling to Palestine and if you can, please support the podcast on Ko-fi. All the links can be found here: https://linktr.ee/storiesfrompalestine

Support the podcast with a donation: https://ko-fi.com/storiesfrompalestine

In the Palestinian refugee camp 'Aida' in Bethlehem a group of women with children with a disability came together to support each other. It started as simple as collecting money to be able to buy cheaper nappies in bulk so they would save money. The mother's group grew out into the Noor (which means light in Arabic) Women Empowerment Group (WEG).

In this episode you can learn more about the Palestinian refugee camps in general and Aida camp in Bethlehem in particular. I speak with Rua who runs the Noor Rehabilitation Center, a project by the Noor Women Empowerment Group. They support people with disabilities in different ways, with physical therapy, psychological support and by offering classes for children with learning problems and autism.

As the Center is completely dependent on charity, donations are highly appreciated. They also offer (online) cooking classes that you can sign up for and donate towards!

For the Society for Disabled go to: https://noorsocietyfordisabled.wordpress.com

For Noor Women Empowerment Group and cooking classes: https://noorweg.wordpress.com

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, follow the YouTube channel and sign up for the weekly e-mail. You can find all the links in the linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Storiesfrompalestine

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, sign up for the newsletter, read more about traveling to Palestine and if you can, please support the podcast on Ko-fi. All the links can be found here: https://linktr.ee/storiesfrompalestine

Support the podcast with a donation: https://ko-fi.com/storiesfrompalestine

The 9th month of the Islamic Hijri calendar is the month of Ramadan in which Muslims are fasting from dawn to dusk. This is one of the five pillars of Islam. In this episode you can learn more about the month of Ramadan, why the fasting is happening in this particular month and why the month of Ramadan is never in the same period of time. You can also virtually join the preparations of a big iftar family meal and hear the call for prayer from the mosque and the sounds of breaking the fasting. 

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, follow the YouTube channel and sign up for the weekly e-mail. You can find all the links in the linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Storiesfrompalestine

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, sign up for the newsletter, read more about traveling to Palestine and if you can, please support the podcast on Ko-fi. All the links can be found here: https://linktr.ee/storiesfrompalestine

Support the podcast with a donation: https://ko-fi.com/storiesfrompalestine

This is the second part of the interview with Ramy Sayyegh, history teacher and tour guide in Jaffa. It is the continuation of episode 9. In the first part we heard about the history of Jaffa from the ancient times until the Ottoman era. In this episode we speak about the big changes that happened to the city of Jaffa and for the residents of Jaffa with the arrival of the European colonial powers, the Zionist immigrants and the United Nations Partition Plan.

Ramy describes the response of the Jaffa residents to the coming of the British Mandate and the Zionist militias. We talk about the year 1948 in which the State of Israel was created, Jaffa was depopulated and most of its residents became refugees. And of course Ramy tells us about Jaffa today. Who lives in Jaffa, what do tourists visit when they come to Jaffa and who benefits from the tourism to Jaffa?!

You can contact Ramy on instagram if you want to organize a tour in Jaffa.

https://instagram.com/Ramysa78

To listen to the podcast that Ramy produces (in Arabic)

Apple:https://apple.co/34KAO7W 

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3kJG1mK

Podbean: https://bit.ly/2IRNanu

Google pod: https://did.li/Almadi-Alhader-2

Instagram: https://instagram.com/podcast.yaffayouth

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, follow the YouTube channel and sign up for the weekly e-mail. You can find all the links in the linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Storiesfrompalestine

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, sign up for the newsletter, read more about traveling to Palestine and if you can, please support the podcast on Ko-fi. All the links can be found here: https://linktr.ee/storiesfrompalestine

Support the podcast with a donation: https://ko-fi.com/storiesfrompalestine

Until my first visit to Palestine in 2006 I was not really aware of the fact that there were Christian Palestinians. Which is quite ridiculous if you have only a little understanding of where Christianity came from! Of course there are Christians in the land where Jesus was born, preached his message, was crucified and resurrected, according to the Bible. 

In this episode I speak with three students of the Bethlehem Bible College tour guide program, about the history of Christianity, Christians in Palestine, the Easter story according to the Bible, the theological meaning of the crucifixion and some of the local traditions of Easter in Jerusalem. 

This episode was created for the final assignment of our New Testament course at the Bethlehem Bible College. 

The music in this episode are snippets of Easter related songs by Fayrouz. 

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, follow the YouTube channel and sign up for the weekly e-mail. All links can be found on the linktree:
https://linktr.ee/Storiesfrompalestine

Connect to Stories from Palestine on social media, sign up for the newsletter, read more about traveling to Palestine and if you can, please support the podcast on Ko-fi. All the links can be found here: https://linktr.ee/storiesfrompalestine

Support the podcast with a donation: https://ko-fi.com/storiesfrompalestine