Visiting the Palestinian narrative requires more than a visit
“Humankind cannot bear very much reality.” ― T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets
A heated argument is taking place about the morality, benefit, and value of traveling to Palestine to witness firsthand what Palestinians are facing in the context of prolonged Israeli military occupation. Assuming these travelers are well-intentioned and want to see Israel’s military occupation for what it is, what they get in the best case is a brief glimpse of the Palestinians’ current reality. They will not come close to learning in any depth about the full lived experience of Palestinians, let alone acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the Palestinian narrative.
By force or otherwise and over several generations, Israel has succeeded beyond its founders’ wildest dreams and in broad daylight to fragment the Palestinian community geographically, socially, economically, and politically. For an authentic engagement with the Palestinian narrative, one would need to also visit Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Denmark, Germany, the US, the UK, Canada, Chile, Brazil, and Venezuela, to name just a few. Visitors would also need to spend some time visiting Israeli prisons to meet a growing number of Palestinian political prisoners being detained, hundreds without charge, and some for 10, 20, 30 years or more.
