Guest Writer
UVA Paltrek
On March 22, a panel of three law students gathered together to answer questions and share reflections about PalTrek, an inaugural trip that fourteen UVA graduate students took to Palestine over spring break. The purpose of the trek was for students to gain an understanding of Palestinian history, culture, and daily life—particularly how all have been shaped and impacted by Israeli occupation and military control.
The students panelists—including Spencer Haydary ’23 and Sabrina Surgil ’24—spoke from a variety of backgrounds and prior understandings about Palestine: Haydary had already been on two trips to the region with other organizations, Surgil grew up with pro-Zionist influences, and another student came from a Pakistani Muslim family. All expressed a desire to circumvent past biases and knowledge—whether from organizations, communities, or the news media—as a chief reason for participating in PalTrek. They wanted to see and hear from Palestinians themselves about what the day-to-day reality of life under occupation entails, and their panel showed that they certainly succeeded.
The consensus among the panel was that Palestinians face great trauma in the forms of discrimination and segregation. Indeed, the panel shared many details that one would think came from history books discussing the Jim Crow era or South African apartheid: “In Hebron, Israeli soldiers said we could only use a certain restroom if we were not Muslim. Our guides were forced to stop at checkpoints throughout the city almost every thirty minutes, with some checkpoints even being a few hundred feet apart. Palestinians cannot fly their flags in Hebron, and their streets are ceilinged with chain link fences above in order to prevent Israelis from throwing garbage down upon them,” Haydary attested. Surgil also spoke of how Palestinians are not allowed to use Israeli roads and are instead forced to use separate ones that can be unpaved, littered with trash—often not their own—and made up of cumbersome routes. For instance, the Israeli road from Bethlehem to Ramallah cuts through Jerusalem and is about a forty-minute drive, while the Palestinian road takes two hours. The two also discussed other basic disparities, such as how Palestinians must collect rainwater in tanks on their roofs, while Israeli houses have indoor pipes and plumbing.
“Palestinians are also subject to random checks and searches, constant surveillance on the street via cameras that can see and hear conversations, and even facial recognition surveillance that can identify them in their cars on the road,” one student shared. They are also required to get permits to enter certain areas of the region, such as the holy city of Jerusalem, which are scarcely granted, according to the PalTrekkers’ guides. These restrictions on freedom of movement and invasions of privacy extend to all Palestinians and seep into even the most basic parts of life. Indeed, the tour guide described gunshots as white noise that Palestinians have learned to sleep through. Moreover, university students told the PalTrekkers that merely being a part of certain student organizations is enough to be jailed or interrogated for, and that class is never at full attendance because someone has inevitably been detained. Class topics, material, speakers, and faculty at Palestinian universities must also be cleared by the Israeli government. At one point in the panel, the three also shared an emotional anecdote of meeting with a Palestinian family that is involved in organizing peaceful protests in the village of Nabi Salih. These protests have resulted in the arrests of children as young as nine, illegal uses of tear gas by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), and even deaths in the village, underscoring how the occupation affects all, regardless of how pacific or young.
Despite the dark reality of Palestinian treatment in the region, Haydary and Surgil found hope in the strength, kindness, and resilience of the Palestinian people. “There’s a misconception that life in Palestine is desolate, but it is in fact thriving with culture, generosity, humanity, and kindness,” said Surgil. From sampling shawarma and coffee in homes, to being taught Dabke, a traditional Palestinian form of dance, the group experienced the personal generosity of their various host organizations and contacts daily. They opened their doors with hospitality and grace, always infusing the interactions with the humanity at stake. It is easy, the panel stated, to become desensitized to what is going on in Israel/Palestine and to shy away, but it is crucial to remember the very real human cost being paid each day by the Palestinian people. The panel urged all students, regardless of their beliefs, to come on PalTrek next year and see for themselves what is going on in Palestine. They are confident that anyone, regardless of background, would recognize that it is wrong and be moved to action.