Walking in Jaffa's Shoes

Our Jaffa Tours Facilitation Training Course is nearing completion, with participants from both Palestinian and Jewish communities making significant progress since the program began in late 2024. The bi-national group has been immersed in exploring Jaffa's rich socio-historical context while developing their skills as tour facilitators.

Throughout the two-month training, participants have examined their own identities in relation to Jaffa's narrative while learning to craft tours that present multiple perspectives. They've engaged with the city's complex history alongside contemporary challenges facing Jaffa and its diverse communities today.

As they complete their training, these new facilitators will soon join our tours team, ready to share Sadaka-Reut's unique approach with diverse audiences, creating meaningful opportunities for dialogue and understanding across communities.

In the words of one participants: "I've always loved to write since I was a child, but I never thought I had something worthwhile to share, something that others would want to hear. But in the course I've come to realize the importance of telling my own story, with my own voice."

This participant's experience, along with the experiences of the hundreds of participants in our tours annually, would be possible without you. Thank you for your support.

In solidarity, 

The Sadaka-Reut Team

Dear partners,

This year has been one of untold challenges, and there have been many times where it felt like our work was not possible. Since October 7th, there has been virtually no international tourism (that's engaging with SR's programming), and many organizations and institutions that were interested in tours in the past have are now no longer willing. Despite this, we are pleased to share with you an exciting update regarding our tour project.

For many years at Sadaka-Reut, we have been interested in expanding our tours program beyond Jaffa, We are proud to share that this year, thanks to your support, we ran a successful launch of our first Tour Guide Training Program in Lydd. The program provided participants with comprehensive learning about Lod's past and present history, attracting impressive participation from both Lod residents and others. The majority of participants were Palestinian women, and it became clear that the program addressed a crucial need for connection with Palestinian identity and history, particularly significant during this time of ongoing challenges. The program culminated with participants conducting their own tours of Lydd, demonstrating remarkable professionalism and expertise. The participants' enthusiasm and requests for program continuation reflected the profound impact of this training.

Building on this success, we are now developing two key resources: an educational film about Lydd, which will be created under the leadership of our first cohort graduates, and a comprehensive tour guide sourcebook that will serve as a knowledge base for future participants. The tours have proven to be an invaluable educational tool this year, with most of our groups incorporating them into their learning process, significantly enhancing political understanding and dialogue within the groups. Looking ahead, we plan to reinstate the position of Tour Coordinator to facilitate additional training programs and further develop this promising initiative, allowing us to fully realize its potential for community impact and education.

This would not be possible without your help, and we hope that we will be able to continue developing this exciting program with your help moving forward. 

With gratitude,

The Sadaka-Reut Team