Go to Palestine: A Report From the Ground

The presence of internationals, especially white Westerners, deters Israeli violence. It slows the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians. It was clear to me that every Israeli responsible for detaining us wanted to abuse us to a greater extent than they did, but they had to refrain from doing so. The same dynamic was evident in the fields. In one instance, a shoving match broke out between the Palestinian farmer and a settler. Had we not been present and recording the encounter, the farmer would have certainly been attacked, imprisoned, or killed. In fact, after our arrest, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) kidnapped, blindfolded, and badly beat one of our guides twice in two days. They broke his nose and dislocated his shoulder. Had we been there recording, they would not have committed such violence.

To me, the confirmation of the efficacy of our presence there gives us Westerners a special mandate. Our own governments, especially the United States, aid and abet the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians with our tax dollars. We therefore have a responsibility to rectify this. Thousands of us have attempted to do so with various tactics, none of which have been sufficiently effective.

obviously if you have money and can tolerate treatment described, probably simpler for euros