My first encounter with Israeli-Palestinian issues was through my best friends from Palestine I made during my high school years in Italy. I became more and more interested in the political situation as well as culture there, which led me to specialise in the Middle East region at university. There, I did not only obtain more knowledge through academic coursework but I also got close to a student from Israel, who helped me deepen my perspectives about the issues in the region. As I wanted to learn more about the Palestine/Israel region which had become one of my both primary academic and personal interests, I was looking for opportunities to do some internship or volunteer work there, and I came across FFIPP.
What was one thing that surprised you about your experience in Palestine/Israel?
I was impressed by the diversity of ways in which Palestinians fight the occupation. Our introduction week was organised by Baha, the owner of a cafe in Beit Sahour, Citadel, who organises many tours for international tourists visiting the West Bank to introduce them to the reality of the situation there. We met the art director of Freedom Theatre in Jenin, who seeks to send his message through art. One of the people that stuck me the most was a farmer at Tent of Nations, who seeks a legal path in the Israeli court to protect his ownership of his land that has been disputed by the State of Israel. While recognising the hardship of pursuing such legal procedures in a legal system that is inherently unfair for Palestinians like himself, he impressed me with his diligence and commitment to his land. Moreover, the idea he repeated over and over again, which is that it is the system that needs to be despised and corrected, also touched me.