The Volunteer to Write Articles about Palestine Program is designed for participants with a background and interest in journalism, reporting and recording in various formats, with an interest in telling human stories. This program not only allows, but encourages participants to immerse themselves into Palestinian culture, forming connections with the local residents around Hebron.

At Engage in the West Bank we welcome people whatever their views on the situation between Israel and Palestine. We encourage reporting of the Center to be fair and unbiased; to tell the stories of the people who live in Hebron and the work of the Center. Whereas media coverage of Israel and Palestine focuses on the ongoing conflict and relationship between the parties, writing articles with our center will allow you to experience and recount the experiences and everyday life for local residents and communities. International communication is important for many Palestinians, who simply want to feel connected to, and recognised by, the international community.

Connecting with people internationally in a friendly and honest way are cornerstones from which Engage in the West Bank in Hebron, West Bank, Palestine is based. As such, we are constantly seeking people who are able to write critically and clearly about the many different activities occurring at the Center as well as the experience of living in Hebron and the West Bank, Palestine as well as about Palestinian refugees life in and around Hebron.

The Writing Article Internship presents various avenues for internationals with an interest in the Israel/ Palestine region to explore and witness the realities of everyday life in the area. Examples of activities possible to participate in include: daily events taking place at the EC, the educational system in Palestine, volunteering in Palestine, studying Arabic, and community events, among many other activities.

When can I volunteer to Write about Palestine?

Programs for interns at the Center are designed to run for at least 1 month, up to the 3-month maximum allowed through a travel VISA. Within these loose boundaries, interns are free to join throughout the year, shaping the internship to cater to their needs. This offers ideal opportunities for travelers seeking summer volunteering in Israel and Palestine, with volunteers welcomed year-round at the center.

We’re flexible about your start date and stay duration to guarantee an exciting volunteer experience for you in Palestine.

Brief information about The Volunteer to Write Articles about Palestine Program

Benefits provided by Engage in the West Bank:

On top of this fulfilling immersive volunteering experience, volunteers in the Write Articles about Palestine Program benefit from the following

• 12 hours of conversational Palestinian Arabic lessons for each month they intern. Participants also can study MSA, Fusha or colloquial Arabic.
• Accommodation with a Palestinian host family or a shared flat.
• Breakfast with other participants (6 times a week)
• Support during their time in Palestine
• Visits to various sites in the city of Hebron (refugee camps in Hebron, the old city, different factories, etc.)
• Understanding of Palestinian politics and experience the occupation of the West Bank 
•  Get to know the Human Rights situations and helping the Palestinian refugees. 
• Engagement in educational, community and social activities
• The hospitality of Palestinians and the pleasant climate offer a great attraction to overseas students.
• Writing about Palestine will allow you to live in and gain impressions from one of the most politically divisive and ambivalent regions of the Middle East.
• The writing articles Internship in the West Bank Program will provide you the chance to visit unique tourist attractions with a particular native perspective – locations including Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron, Tulkarm, Qalqilyah, Jenin and the Dead Sea in Jericho.
• Visit nearby cities such as Akko, Herzliya, Beersheva, Eilat, Tiberias, Netanya, Safed, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Masada, Amman, Aqaba, Wadi Rum, and Nazareth.
• Our center is staffed by well-qualified, attentive Arabic teachers, each with an excellent educational background, ready and happy to help you.
• Engage in the West Bank will provide participants a certificate upon completion.

Requirements for Volunteer to Write about Palestine Program:

We rely on our online presence to attract volunteers from around the world and share stories from the Centre. To ensure a level of quality to the articles written, we request the following from our authors:

• Demonstration of fluency in the English Language for speaking, writing, listening, and reading is required, and any other language fluency is an added plus.
• Writers should have some prior experience in writing texts in English
• Showing a strong motivation to write about Palestine and a willingness to embrace local culture and traditions is hugely welcomed

You must be between 23 – 75 years old in order to apply. Engage in the West Bank welcomes all nationalities!

Specificities of Role

Throughout the internship, volunteers should be able to meet the following obligations and duties:

• Collect information and necessary materials from the EC staff, students, international volunteers, and interns and others to facilitate the writing of articles.
• Submit one articles per day subject to critique and acceptance by EC staff. Articles may be required to be revised to achieve final approval. These articles should be between 1000 – 1200 words. (one to two pages)
• Edit articles from Engage in the West Bank website

The articles aim to inform international readers about life in Palestine and opportunities in living here; therefore, writers should use a writing voice that is engaging, direct, and clear.

Currently, Engage in the West Bank is looking for volunteers who can help edit the center’s website content (Mainly to improve the articles’ readability and English Language). Please email us for more information.

Arabic Lessons for Volunteers of the Article Writing Program

All participants of the Write Articles about Palestine Program receive 3 hours of intensive Arabic classes a week with a Palestinian teacher. Moreover, all volunteers will have ample opportunities to meet people in Palestine, learning and practicing their Arabic skills. Volunteers at Engage in the West Bank have the freedom to choose the type of Arabic they want to learn.

Arabic dialects to learn

All volunteers at our base in Hebron will receive a choice of Arabic dialects to study during their time in the West Bank. As part of your volunteer placement, we offer a choice of: 

• Shami or Levantine Arabic (Amiyya dialect)
• Colloquial Palestinian Arabic
• Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)
• a mixed Program: (Modern Standard Arabic & Shami Arabic)

Help is always on offer if you need advice on choosing a dialect.

Volunteer in Palestine Program registration fee

To cover the costs of the program, Engage in the West Bank will charge a fee of 250€ a month. This fee covers accommodation provided by the Center, the breakfast provided each morning, Arabic classes, and the costs and the cost of cultural trips around the city. This fee is much lower than that of many of the other programs run by the Center, as a reflection of how much we value strong English writing skills.

• We will offer pre-departure support, accommodation with a local host family or at Engage in the West Bank’s dorm, some meals, and assistance and coordination while residing in Palestine, three hours a week of Arabic lessons, and some visits to various sites in and around the city of Hebron.
• Engage in the West Bank accepts applications year-round for this program.

Where do volunteers of our programs come from?

In short, everywhere. Here in Engage in the West Bank we pride ourselves on our international openness towards people of all nations, religions and cultures. For us, there is no ‘foreigner’, simply people with unique cultural perspectives, from whom we are delighted to share our time and experiences with.

The largest proportion of our Arabic students in Palestine include: the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Canada, France, Spain, Belgium, and Switzerland.

Moreover, students from: Brazil, Mexico, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Australia, Japan, South Africa, Singapore, South Korea, Ireland, China, and New Zealand have all taken to studying Arabic in Hebron, West Bank.

Is your country not on the list? Then now is your chance to become a trailblazer to become the first representative of your nation, and join our ever-expanding international community.

Reviews from former participants 

Engage in the West Bank in Hebron has now over 10 years of experience, and prides itself on the positive feedback received from over 1000 international interns and volunteers to the Center. Reviews of our all our Volunteer and Internship Programs, including the various journalism-based programs run through the Center, can be found through the following links:

• Reviews and ratings (96.8%) on gooverseas.com
• Reviews and ratings (96%) on goabroad.com
• Participants’ video testimonials

Flying into Palestine

Unfortunately, there are no airports in Palestine; as such it is currently impossible to fly directly into the West Bank. Palestinians use either the airports in Jordan or Egypt to travel abroad. However, international volunteers and interns can fly to Israeli airports and then cross to Palestine. We believe the easiest ways to get to Engage in the West Bank in Hebron, Palestine are:

• To fly to Ben Gurion, Tel Aviv Airport (Israel). It takes about two and a half hours from the airport to Engage in the West Bank in Hebron via shared Taxi.
• You can fly to Eilat airport and then travel by booking a shuttle or taking a bus to Jerusalem and then to Hebron. The whole trip can last between 6-7 hours.
• A separate option is to fly to Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan and then cross the border into Palestine, but this route takes more time and is more expensive.

How to get a VISA to Volunteer in Palestine?

There is unfortunately no way to directly apply for a VISA to volunteer on the Write Articles about Palestine Program at Engage in the West Bank before travelling out to volunteer in Palestine. Upon arrival in Israel, internationals are given a 3 month VISA, applicable to Israel and Palestine. With this VISA, volunteers are able to travel freely in the Israel and Palestinian territories for up to a 3 month period.

In general, no prior VISA is needed for Americans, Canadians, and most Europeans in order to enter Palestine. Please refer to the visa exemption agreement. Upon your arrival at the Israeli Airports in Tel Aviv or Eilat, you will be granted a tourist visa that is valid for 90 days which enables you to travel around Palestine and Israel.

Traveling to and from Hebron, West Bank

We know that many participants of the Write Articles about Palestine, especially those traveling in the Israel/ Palestine region for the first time, naturally have queries on issues such as:

• How to get to Hebron, West Bank,
• How to make your way to the Engage in the West Bank once arriving
• Transportation in the area; which taxi you should take
• How to cross the checkpoints in the West Bank.

Hopefully all the necessary information about how to get to Hebron, Palestine, and Engage in the West Bank and some useful contact information is provided in these four articles:

• How to fly to Palestine
• How to get to Hebron, Palestine
• Planning your trip to Palestine
• Get from the Ben Gurion Airport (Israel) to Hebron

For any further questions, you are always welcome to get in touch with us.

Safety of our Article Writers

The region of Palestine has not been stable for the last few decades, there is always unrest and war, sometimes it becomes more volatile and at other times it’s calmer. Nonetheless, each year millions of tourists visit Palestine and the West Bank including Hebron, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jenin, Tulkarem, Nablus, and many other cities without any safety issues. Palestinians in general are welcoming and hospitable people. They recognize that the politics of a country and its people may differ.  

Since it was formed in 2011, Engage in the West Bank has welcomed over 1000 international visitors. These visitors lived and worked in Hebron for a few weeks or months. Overall they did not face any threat nor were they unsafe in Hebron or the West Bank.

Moreover, Engage in the West Bank is in a central area of Hebron under the Palestinian authority. Our Palestinian host families and the male dorms are located near Engage in the West Bank too. 

Steps to apply to the Volunteer to Write Articles about Palestine Program:

1. Email center co-founder Rafat Shantir at Rafat@excellencenter.org requesting an application, listing ‘Volunteer to Write Articles about Palestine’ as your desired program. 
2. We will send you the application. You will fill it out and send it back to us.

In the meantime, you can contact us via email: Rafat@excellencenter.org, WhatsApp or phone: +972 599-479880. If you have any questions or need more information about our programs please do not hesitate to get in touch. 

After we receive your application:

1. We review the application with our team (this usually takes a week)
2. You may be invited to a short talk on a Skype call, Zoom or WhatsApp to give you more information and answer all of the questions.

Selections process

1. We will send you an acceptance letter and a program contract.
2. Sign the contract and send it back to us.
3. Pay the fees online in advance.
4. You are ready to come to Hebron, Palestine, and join our Engage in the West Bank family.

Related internship and volunteer program in Hebron, West Bank, Palestine

More information?

For more information, please visit our website: https://excellencenter.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excellence.center

Engage in the West Bank’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ExcellenceCenter

Engage in the West Bank’s Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/RafatECHebron

Watch us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsQSLdFZWZcBm6Uj0XMYuKg

Visit and Explore Palestine: https://www.facebook.com/ExplorePalestine

We would be happy to have you in our Volunteer to Write Articles about Palestine