JFJFP

Galilee Today Alternative Tours is the perfect guide for those interested in learning about Palestine’s rich history and the effects of Israel’s ongoing practices of erasure and containment on land, architecture, heritage sites and people. Through Galilee Today Alternative Tours we want activism and tourism to meet, to share our knowledge on Palestinian history and contemporary life with as many people as possible.

Let us take you to see remains of houses, schools and graveyards. Visit the unrecognized Bedouin villages, whose people are holding onto their lands despite the fact that the Israeli state has cut them off from water, electricity and basic infrastructure. Learn about Land Day, the Judaization of the Galilee, about the residents of the Golan, and contemporary Palestinian life in Israel.

Discover various aspects of occupation and state-oppression. See Palestine as you have never seen it before.

DESIGN YOUR OWN TOUR:
Tours are flexible and can be designed or altered according to the visitor’s time, budget and interests. For those with specific interests (such as holy sites), we can create an itinerary designed to include relevant sites. Visitors may also leave the trip itinerary in the hands of our experienced local tour guide.

What do our alternative tours offer?

Visit beautiful landscapes, including traditional Arab villages surrounded by deep valleys, winding streams and high mountains, some with views of the Mediterranean Sea or the Sea of Galilee.
Visit archeological sites dating from the Canaanite era through the Roman, Islamic, Ottoman and Crusader periods. Tours may include the holy places of the three monotheistic religions: Nazareth, Qana, Tiberia, Safad, Akka, Sakhnin, Deir Hanna to mention a few.
Visit the destroyed villages of 1948 to illustrate the contrast between these sites and exclusive Jewish settlements built on the ruins of former Arab-Palestinian homes. The names of these destroyed villages were often appropriated and used as the names of the new settlements. Examples include: Iqrit, Ber’im, Gabsieh, Saforia, Mia’ar and Sohmata.
Visit the unrecognized Bedouin villages that the state of Israel deprives of basic necessities such as electricity, water and education. Israel also forbids the Bedouin communities to build new homes, forcing them to leave their lands.
Visit the villages of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, the northernmost past of the mountains of Galilee. Here, you will have an opportunity to speak with residents engaged in community and political work.
All tours are offered in Arabic, English, German, Dutch and Hebrew. These tours are particularly beneficial to foreign TV crews and journalists and study/research groups, but they are also perfect for the conscientious and curious-minded alike.

Here are some examples of tours that include various locations in the Galilee and beyond, and cover historic and contemporary issues facing the residents of the Galilee:

One-day tours:
* A visit to the Druze residents of the occupied Golan Heights of Majd al-Shams. On our return we will visit Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee.
* A tour through what is left of the Palestinian city of Safad in the Upper Galilee. Afterward, we will travel to the destroyed villages of Bir’im and Iqrit, whose native residents live in Israel as internally displaced refugees (‘present absentees’) and are not permitted to return to their lands.
* A visit to Haifa and Ras al-Naqura, on the border with Lebanon.
* A visit to Nazareth, including a meeting with local journalists and community leaders. Then we take a trip to the Tiberias district and visit several destroyed villages where remnants of Palestinian Arab communities can still be found; Hitteen, Majdal, Tabgha. Al-sajara and Loubyi.

Half-day tours:
* Discover the remnants of the different destroyed villages of Al-Birwa, Amqa, Al-Ghabsiyya and Al-Bassa.
* Visit Sakhnin, the destroyed village of Mi’ar, and the unrecognized Bedouin village of Arab al Na’im.
* Sakhnin, up-close: an opportunity to meet local youth, community leaders and residents. Galilee Today can organize discussions, film screenings, cultural activities and music events in the Freedom and Theatre tent.

FOOD & ACCOMMODATIONS:
* Delicious Palestinian Fare – home cooked meals are available at the Culture and Freedom Tent in Sakhnin (breakfast, lunch and dinner). Good, inexpensive restaurants with home-style Palestinian-Arab cooking are another option.
* Local Accommodations – Galilee Today Alternative Tours can book a room in a well-priced Bed and Breakfast located in a pleasant guesthouse in one of the Arab villages for groups that wish to stay overnight in the Galilee. For those hoping to practice the Arabic language and get a closer look into the Palestinian way of life, we may arrange your stay with a local family.

____________________________

For booking, information, questions or remarks, contact:

Galilee Today Alternative Tours
POB 4339
30810 Sakhnin
Telephone: +972 4 6745 821 or email

Ali Zbeidat, co-founder and tour guide. Mobile: +972 50 989 5554

Trees Zbidat-Kosterman, co-founder and manager. Mobile: +972 525 508 512

Dina Zbidat, Contact in the Netherlands. Mobile: +31 6 4702 8254