Samira Nematollahi ‘23
Staff Editor
Students at UVA Law are planning the Law School’s inaugural Paltrek (a.k.a. Palestine Trek), and on October 15 they hosted an informational session on what the trip entails and the goals of the group in attendance. The main goal of the trek is for graduate students at UVA to build an understanding of the Palestinian narrative and to share that upon their return to grounds. The students organizing the trek are working with an established network of Palestinians on the ground to develop the itinerary. While this is UVA’s first Paltrek, other universities such as Harvard and Columbia have hosted the trek for several years.
Trekkers will be introduced to Palestinian history, people, culture, and heritage. An important aspect of the trip is that students will also be exposed to the reality of life under military occupation from the perspective of Palestinians. Trekkers will spend the week traveling between different cities in the West Bank to visit various significant sites, meeting with local human rights leaders, and experiencing Palestinian culture. The itinerary has not yet been set; however, some of the cities Paltrek plans on visiting are Ramallah (the administrative capital of Palestine), Rawabi (the first planned Palestinian city), and Jerusalem.
Paltrek presents an unparalleled opportunity to experience Palestine and to gain a deeper understanding of the Israel-Palestine conflict. While there are countless articles, documentaries, and interviews with Palestinians, nothing can match the experience of learning about it directly. After the trip, the students plan to host talk-back events to provide the trekkers a space to share what they learned with the Law School. The Palestinian voice is often overlooked, so these sessions are intended to help share their narrative with the student body.
The trip will happen during spring break (March 5-13) and is open to all graduate students at UVA, not just law students! Students will have until November 22 to apply for the trip and can receive the application by emailing the contact below. The organizers of Paltrek will be hosting several fundraiser events to help reduce the cost of the trip—this week there will be a bake sale at the law school. There will also be a screening of the documentary Mayor, which follows the challenges that the Mayor of Ramallah faces in running a city under occupation.
For more information on Paltrek and to sign up for the listserv, contact Warren Griffiths: wg4dt@virginia.edu.
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