Daniel is a member of AJ6 one of the seven British organizations that has members spending their gap year in Israel on the collective Machon L'Madrichei Chutz La'Aretz program.  AJ6 works to empower young Jews in order to foster a more "educated and tolerant" Jewish community that feels a connected sense of community and mutual responsibility. 

As part of their Monday Israel experience curriculum (which has also included trips to the Israeli Blind Museum, City of David, and a day devoted to different faiths in Israel) Machon L'Madrichei Chutz La'Aretz took their participants to Hebron, a city ethnically and physically divided between the approximately 800 Jews and an Arab population of over 160,000.

Home to the Cave of the Patriarchs, a religious site containing the tombs of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah, Hebron has held significant importance to all of the Abrahamic faiths, and for Jews is considered the holiest city after Jerusalem. 

Roots of the contemporary conflict begin with the Great Arab Revolt and the 1929 massacre of the old Hebron Jewish Yishuv, which resulted in 67 Jewish deaths, over 60 injuries, the looting of Jewish homes and synagogues, and the flight of the remaining Jewish inhabitants.

After the Six Day War a Jewish population returned to Hebron, setting up settlements in and around Hadassah hospital, the center of the old Yishuv.  In 1997, following the Oslo Accords, the city was officially divided into two sections (H1 and H2) with sector H1 coming under the legislative control of the Palestinian Authority, and H2 handed over to Israel. 

However, both Arabs and Jews continue to live in the H2 sector and tensions remain high with violent clashes perpetuated from both sides common occurrences.  This reality has resulted in a constant high level of military presence in the city as well as a drastic decrease in the Arab population of H2. (For more information on the history and current situation of Hebron see below.)

In Hebron, Daniel met with a Jewish resident, a Yeshiva student as well as a member of Break the Silence, an organization of former Israeli soldiers that served in Hebron.  "All sides were closed minded," Daniel says shaking his head.  "I came away confused and really angry.  I really want to visit (the city) independently." 

An element of his tour that he much appreciated, however, was observing the Israelis within his group as they prepared for and digested their exposure to Hebron.  Explaining that AJ6 is one of the only programs to have a contingent of Israeli participants, Daniel commented, "I was very glad they were there.  They were slightly scared of the security situation, and worried about what they were going to see."   Daniel informed me, fearing the warning they would receive, many did not tell their parents they were even going to visit the city.  

After their tour Daniel relates that he and his fellow participants were engaged in much conversation and debate.  Despite complaints of confusion and frustration, it appears that Machon L'Madrichei Chutz La'Aretz did their job well.  Let the conversation continue.  

Resources
-Wikipedia History of Hebron http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebron

-"Gost Town" by Meron Rapoport, Haaretz November 17, 2005
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=646948

-Break the Silence http://www.shovrimshtika.org/index_e.asp

-The Jewish Community of Hebron Homepage http://www.hebron.com/english/

Photo Credits
www.simon-mark.com/images/extremism/Hebron-WS.jpg

http://www.zioneocon.blogspot.com/2003_10_12_zion
eocon_archive.html

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