by Rabbi Alissa Wise
During rabbinical school, I spent three summers doing human rights work on the West Bank, largely with the International Women’s Peace Service in the Salfit Region of the West Bank. While there, I kept a blog of my experiences which was called “Palestinian Talmud.” I am delighted that a blog with the same title is being re-imagined now by the JVP Rabbinical Council.
In honor of the first Palestinian Talmud blog, I am sharing here a handful of my posts from Summer 2007, the second summer I spent on the West Bank witnessing documenting human rights abuses perpetrated by the Israeli Army and/or the settler population and also working with Birthright Unplugged and Birthright Replugged.
In reviewing these posts, I am struck by how many of these stories are as important to read and tell now as they were four and a half years ago, and by how entrenched and frighteningly normative a lot of what I describe has become in understanding the Israeli occupation.
As a new reader to these posts, I am curious what stands out to you as interesting and relevant. Please share your respectful comments below.
