By Will Hardeng – England

Despite studying the Middle Eastern conflict for several years, and feeling as if I had a solid grasp on the Israel-Palestine conflict, I can now safely say that I knew very little. Zajel has been the most intense, emotional and education 2 weeks of my life.
The workshops were a highlight of the camp for me. While there were some teething problems, we soon found our feet and what started as a class of some 60 students, who were scared to even say “my name is …..”, turned into a confident group of individuals who were debating confidently and competently in English. I feel as if I have made many friends with the students in my workshop and I hope to see them again one day. The workshops were incredibly rewarding and a highlight of my trip.

I feel as if I have learnt so much over the past two weeks. And done so much that I can barely remember what happened yesterday. Particular highlights were Hebron and qalqiliya, very moving places. The An-Najah staff and volunteers have all been superb, the accommodations were great and the food was consistently excellent. Staff did everything and more to ensure our stay was comfortable and I greatly appreciate that. I have made some very close friends at Zajel and we will be taking home some memories I will never forget. I hope to see all of the volunteers, staff and students again and would nice again thank everyone for the most intense, emotional and educational two weeks of my life. It brings a tear to my eye to think that I will soon be leaving. We will stay in touch.