U.S Black Leaders Peacemaking Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

We'll drive from the airport to our first hotel in Nazareth. 

Join us on the first night as a group to enjoy a meal and get to know each other. You will be introduced to the Telos staff and review the trip program for the week.

Whether you're an expert on Israel/Palestine or you're brand new to this topic, we'll spend some time exploring a multi-narrative history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order to ground us for the upcoming visits and experiences throughout our trip. This will be a great time to begin thinking about questions you're curious to learn more about and ask our different speakers.

We'll visit the Church of Annunciation in Nazareth with a local guide. 

With a local guide we'll visit the ancient synagogues of Capernaum.

We'll visit the serene Mt of Beatitudes and read the Sermon on the Mount.

We'll take a relaxing boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. 

A local guide will take us on a tour of the sights and smells of the market - with stops at a family spice shop, the community mosque, an ancient Synagogue and the Church of Annunciation. 

House of Grace opened in doors as the first rehabilitation center for prisoners in Israel in the 80's. They have a unique story and powerful approach to peacemaking. We'll meet with the founder's son who currently runs the center. 

We'll meet with a leader of one of the oldest Zionist youth movements that were integral in the establishment of the state of Israel. We'll learn briefly about this Zionist history and where the ideology and missions of the movement is today.

We will drive down from the Galilee to our hotel in Jerusalem.

After our arrival in Jerusalem we'll share a dinner with Israeli guests from different areas of civil society. This is a great chance to get to know locals and ask questions about their perspectives. 

We will have the chance to visit the Knesset (Israel's parliament) and meet with an Israeli politician to discuss the conflict and official Israeli perspectives.

We'll visit Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Memorial and take a guided tour with a local Israeli in order to better understand this dark period of history and the important role Holocaust trauma plays in Jewish Israeli society today.

Telos staff will lead a workshop to dive deeper into Antisemitism in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. 

Israeli settlements are a controversial topic in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We'll discuss the recent political history of settlements and then visit an Israeli settlement to better understand the perspectives of these communities. 

We'll meet with a Palestinian refugee who will give us a walking tour of the refugee camp and share their personal story as we learn about the perspective of Palestinian refugees, which is a central issue in the conflict. 

We'll have a guided tour with a local Bethlehemite to the Church of Nativity, the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem. 

We'll dive deeper into understanding the experiences of Palestinian Christians with a non-violent peace activist who sees peacemaking through his faith. 

We'll walk along the wall and stop by "The Walled Off Hotel", created by the famous British street artist Banksy. 

We'll end the day with a traditional Palestinian dinner in the home of a local family from Bethlehem. 

A local Jerusalemite will guide us through the magical old city of Jerusalem, sharing the history and stories of the different people that have inhabited this holy place. On the tour we will visit many beautiful and interesting places including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian quarter. 

We'll visit the Western Wall which is the holiest site in Judaism due to it's proximity to Temple Mount. On Friday night at sunset, we'll experience groups of Jews coming to pray, sing and dance at the wall to welcome in the Shabbat (the Jewish day of rest). 

The group will be welcomed into a local Jewish family's home to share a Shabbat meal.

We'll visit a Palestinian sustainable farm and hear from the family about their approach to non-violence and peacemaking. 

We will drive to the Mediterranean coast to check into our final hotel in Tel Aviv-Jaffa.

To gain a better understanding of the role the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) plays in society, we'll meet with a former IDF General and security expert. 

Our last meeting of the trip will be with a joint organization of Israeli and Palestinian bereaved parents who have lost a direct family member to the violence of the conflict and instead of choosing revenge advocate for reconciliation. 

We'll take some time as a group to reflect on our experiences and wrap up the trip before heading to our final group dinner!

We'll share a final farewell dinner as a group before heading to the airport.