Day 2: Day at the Museum

Today started off like most days, campers checked in with their counselors and then did some reflections. Shortly after, we got on the bus and headed on our first trip: a quick 15-minute drive to the Palestinian Museum. Our first activity at the museum was to an interactive session on iPads, where campers got to learn and explore the interactive platform launched by the museum called Sansei. Afterwards, we toured their exhibit “People by the Sea: Narratives from the Palestinian Coast”. Starting from the mid-18th century and ending in 1948, the exhibition allows for a re-examination of the Nakba through a presentation of two hundred years of historical landmarks. Seeing that we will be going to Akka, Haifa, and Jaffa soon, we hope this exhibit was able to shed some light about the history of these Palestinian cities and their economic importance and roles in forming the modern Palestinian identity and national conscience. Campers particularly enjoyed an art piece made of broken Armenian tiles from destroyed Palestinian homes during the Nakba. These tiles were washed ashore and collected by the artist. Many campers who have roots in Jaffa considered how some of these tile pieces could well be from the floors grandparents’ homes. Following the tour of the exhibition, campers got a light lunch of grilled chicken sandwiches and free time to roam the museum exhibits and gardens. Shortly after, we walked to Birzeit University (BZU). Following a brief tour of the campus, we met with the Right to Education Campaign (R2E) organizers, a movement that was founded at BZU in 1988 to provide legal assistance to students and teachers who were arrested for carrying books and attending classes in homes and community centers when all Palestinian universities were closed by Israeli military order. Since then, the Campaign has sought to expose the systematic obstruction of Palestinian higher education by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. It was a powerful session where many recognized their privilege yet at the same time this privilege bares on us the responsibility to speak out against the unjust oppression Palestinians live under. We returned to campus to go on break. After returning from break, campers enjoyed a team building and mind stimulating scavenger hunt that took the bulk of the evening activities.