Book Summary, Crossing Boundaries

 By Nate Feldman

In 2020, Aziz Abu Sarah wrote a book, Crossing Boundaries: A Traveler’s Guide to World Peace, that teaches people to explore the world in a responsible way and encourages people to get to know others of different backgrounds, be it from other ethnicities, religions, or point of view. 

A Palestinian, he mentioned having to take a Hebrew class, 20 minutes from where he lives in Jerusalem, and what an eye-opening experience it was.  He eventually became a leader with the Bereaved Parent’s Forum, a group of Israelis and Palestinians who have lost loved ones in the ongoing conflict between the two people.  The organization rejects violence and encourages mutual understanding between the two sides.  They have organized tours for people from both backgrounds to visit each other’s neighborhoods and homes and hear their narratives.

The lesson from these experiences was he realized how little Israelis and Palestinians know about each other, even if they live in the same city, as they do in many cases.  He goes onto advocate for people to explore unknown parts of their own cities or towns to know people with different perspectives and life experiences.  He mentions how people often associate with others from a similar neighborhood or background, but that we should make an effort to become more aware of all the people around us.  He believes the type of travel we do in our own communities great affects the types of travel we do when we go abroad. 

In addition to his own personal experiences, he describes those of Scott Cooper, a Jewish American who is his business partner.  He mentions how Scott, like him, learned about others perspectives while in Israel.  Scott went to Israel to visit his brother who was spending time there, but from there chose also to visit Bethlehem, a Palestinian city.  He went on to become involved with groups that were joint Israeli-Palestinian organizations dedicated to dialogue and building relationships between the two sides.

As for foreign travel, Aziz Abu Sarah strongly encourages travelers to visit destinations off the beaten track, such as small villages, where visitors can interact with locals more easily while supporting their economies.  These positive interactions play a big role in building relationships between people of different cultures.  He also strongly recommends visiting marginalized communities, such as those of minorities, to promote social justice.

Other issues tackled in the book include using tour groups that pay its workers and participants a fair wage as well as being environmentally responsible while traveling.