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News from the Region
2007 Olive Harvest Delegation

Report #5, Part 1 of 5
Finding Hope and Sharing Our Stories

By Nancy Benson

The delegation with Rami Elhanan.

Some people may think our trip was political.   In my opinion, however, our visit focused on human rights, civil rights, and international law.  We were observing for ourselves and we were listening to many organizations - Israeli, Palestinian, and a combination of the two.  We represented no single political group or party or ideology.  Each of us probably had different reactions to and interpretations of what we were seeing.  Members represented a variety of churches and faiths.  In my view our mission was simply a quest for learning and a strong commitment to justice and peace.

There is hope for the future in Palestine and Israel, I believe.  After the first few days of our visit I was discouraged.  We saw Israeli barbed wire fences, many checkpoints, observation blimps and cameras, guns and uniforms, walls and illegal settlements which run through Palestinian towns and separate farmers from their fields, water sources controlled almost entirely by the Israelis.  But then we met with numerous Israeli, Palestinian, and international groups who are working day and night to bring the sides together, stop the abuses, end the occupation, and find a balanced peace process, all the while safeguarding Israeli security.  They were inspiring.  There are similar groups in the U.S. and Canada and other countries.  Now we in this delegation must do whatever we can to inform and motivate people to demand change and insist on rights and security for both the Palestinians and the Israelis.

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