There are many groups, local and international, currently offering tours or opportunities to volunteer. Below, we have chosen to include a variety of opportunities organized locally in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. These include meetings with peacebuilders and nonviolence activists, opportunities to volunteer, or tours that provide exposure to political realities and proposed solutions aimed at ensuring a viable future for both Israelis and Palestinians.  Please be aware that the tours and opportunities listed below represent a widely varying degree of exposure to violent situations.

Breaking the Silence organizes tours of the Hebron and South Hebron Hills area. Breaking the Silence is a group of Israeli soldiers and reservists who speak publicly about their actions in the military.

Combatants for Peace This organization of former combatants from both sides of the conflict organizes tours in East Jerusalem and volunteer opportunities, including helping Palestinians safely work in their agricultural fields.  Members of the organization are also available as speakers for groups.  Contact them via their website.

Encounter organizes tours for Jewish leaders -- from Rabbis, Federation Executives, lay leaders and Jewish educators -- to meet with Palestinian civilians and leaders in Bethlehem, Hebron, or East Jerusalem. For their upcoming events listing, please visit their calendar of events.

Emek Shaveh organizes tours of the City of David and Silwan. Tours, led by archeologists and local residents, examines the role of archeology in the Israeli-Palestinian context and the impact it is having on the local residents of Silwan. 

Friends of Sabeel organizes tours that focus on nonviolence projects and assisting during the olive harvest.  The tours also focus on Christian sites.  Contact friends@fosna.org, (503) 653-6625.

The Geneva Initiative frequently hosts tours and conferences in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Grassroots Tours of Jerusalem introduces vistors to grassroots peacebuilding and nonviolence organizations working in and around Jerusalem, and to the Separation Barrier.

Green Olive Tours offers a wide variety of in-depth tours in Israel and Palestine that capture the history and current status of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank and Jerusalem and between Israel's Jewish, Palestinian-Arab and Bedouin citizens.  

Holy Land Trust offers a Summer Encounter Program in which participants live with Palestinian families in Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Beit Sahour. Participants volunteer with local organizations, take Arabic classes and meet with Palestinian and Israeli peacebuilders. Contact encounter@holylandtrust.org, or Rafat: 0599255569

Interfaith Encounter Association An organization that meets regularly for interfaith dialogue.  They organize educational tours to sites of relevance to each of the three monotheistic religions. Contact office@interfaith-encounter.org

Interfaith Peace-Builders fosters a network of informed and active individuals who understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the United States’ political, military, and economic role in it. To build and nurture such a network, they lead diverse delegations to Israel/Palestine.

Ir Amim's tours focus on political and socio-economic realities of daily life in East Jerusalem.  Ir Amim is an Israeli oragnization and offers tours in English as well as Hebrew.

Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions (ICAHD) runs tours of East Jerusalem, as well as a ten-day study tour in the summer in which participants meet with Palestinian and Israeli speakers and tour key sites in the conflict. Contact tours@icahd.org for tours of East Jerusalem, and tour@icahduk.org for information on the 10-day study tour.

Jerusalem Reality Tours, led by Rotem Mor, which introduce "some of the key social realities of Jerusalem's rich and diverse communities while allowing you to experience first-hand its beautiful places, stories, cultures and people."

Machsom Watch monitors Israeli checkpoints between Palestinian villages and at the entrances to towns in the West Bank, and along the separation barrier near Jerusalem.  They invite participation in these shifts as well as running tours of specific areas.

MEJDI Tours - a Jewish-Arab tour operator that creates custom group tours to Israel, Palestine, Turkey, Jordan, and Egypt.

Palestine Solidarity Project organizes solidarity trips to assist in Palestinian nonviolent demonstrations. Use their online contact form: http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/contact/

Telos Group offers a variety of products ranging from highly-personalized VIP tours for top political, business, religious, and cultural leadership, to intensive educational curricula for universities, to truly unique Holy Land pilgrimages, to high-touch, highly-sophisticated tourism products for the educated and curious traveler. All of our trips provide participants unique access to both the people and the stories of the Holy Land—Israeli and Palestinian, Muslim, Christian and Jew. Meet some of the most compelling and engaging people you’ll ever encounter, often in absolutely remarkable circumstances. Engage a wide-variety of heart-breaking, inspiring and simply amazing stories. Sample some of the finest cuisine and hospitality anywhere on earth. And all along the way, with the help of Telos’ world-class guides, gain the tools necessary to fully engage your counterparts—weaving the diverse and often irreconcilable narratives of the Holy Land’s rich political, religious and historical narratives into a life-changing, unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Join a Telos tour today. For more information contact info@telosgroup.org.