Before leaving the hotel, we processed an experience from the prior day’s visit to the Tower of David Museum. Two participants shared their critique of the museum tour guide and how he was dismissive of the Muslim faith by asserting that Mohammed never visited Jerusalem. He went even further to quote the Quran as evidence that Muslims misinterpret their own Holy Book on this topic. As a group, we discussed how offensive this description was for Muslims and also how problematic it was because our tour guide is an educator and thus taken as an expert sharing a false narrative as fact that further marginalizes Muslims. This discussion helped us come together as a group and become more conscious of the many narratives and counternarratives we would hear on this trip.

We started our outings with a visit to the Educational Bookshop to have a conversation with the owner, Ahmed Muna. Ahmed generously shared his perspective and experiences growing up in East Jerusalem as a Palestinian living in Israel – “without a state or citizenship.” He narrated the Israel/Palestinian conflict for us beginning in 1948, sharing the different types of statuses Palestinian refugees hold in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza. He discussed how he has resident status in Israel, which he explained means he theoretically has rights in the state of Israel that, in practice, are not implemented equitably. He shared examples of paying taxes and not having equal access to housing permits, post offices, parks, public hospitals, or rubbish pickup in his Palestinian neighborhood. He also shared how his resident status and lack of statehood identification make mobility challenging. When asked if he would want citizenship in Israel, he said no because it would be like bribery and betrayal. It would be bribery because he would have to swear allegiance to the Israeli flag and betrayal to family, friends, and fellow Palestinians in the occupied territories with whom he feels a sense of solidarity. He generously shared some book suggestions and a round of caffeine as our group eagerly combed the bookshelves and made some purchases.

We then visited Hebrew University to meet with Mona Khoury-Kassabri, Vice President of Strategy and Diversity, the first Palestinian woman in this new position. She shared her ambitious agenda for making Hebrew University more accessible and inclusive to all students, particularly those with marginalized identities and backgrounds. For example, she shared the inclusive classroom initiative to help professors connect students across difference and create more inclusive courses for Palestinians, Ethiopians, and ultra-Orthodox students. We also heard from four students about their experiences attending Hebrew University as students with marginalized identities and backgrounds.

We took a geopolitical tour of Jerusalem, “Jerusalem, and the Seam, the Wall, and the Future,” with Idan Lahav. He shared the rich history of the area and his own personal experiences growing up in a neighborhood divided by a wall. He shared that the playgrounds are spaces where the Palestinians family crossover into the Jewish settlement because they do not have their own playgrounds, reiterating Ahmed Muna’s point that the municipalities are better supported in the Jewish neighborhoods. Though they share the same playground, the kids parallel play, families keeping their distance from one another.

We visited the Roots Tent to listen to Jewish settler Rabbi Shaul Judelman and Palestinian Arab Belal Arar, who both call the land their home. They each shared their personal stories and connection to the land and how they create spaces for dialogue across the Israeli-Palestinian divide just a short distance from a violent junction. They provided an alternative solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in which the Palestinians and Israelis both have freedom and access to the land without walls and designated areas. Judelman referred to this as “two states, one homeland.” Working toward peace for them takes into account that both communities “belong to the land.”

Throughout the day in Jerusalem, I saw, heard, and felt how Israeli Jews and Palestinians living in Israel were not treated equitably. I also heard from people actively trying to change that through formal and informal education programs and strategies. Questions about what coexistence means, what is the relationship of people to this special and/or sacred land, how do dominant narratives get circulated and to what ends, and what does belonging look like in the State of Israel, in a neighborhood and in a school all left me wanting to learn more when I crawled into bed at the end of Day 4 of our trip.