The Evolution of Eyewitness Palestine
Eyewitness Palestine rejects normalization in all its forms, standing firmly in the global fight for a free and liberated Palestine.
Eyewitness Palestine was founded in 2001 as Interfaith Peace-Builders in response to calls for ongoing delegations to Palestine. Originally a project of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, we became an independent nonprofit in 2008 and have since led 75 delegations to Palestine and co-led an additional medical mission to Gaza in 2024.
As the Palestinian struggle for liberation evolved in this millennium, so too has our organization — while always being committed to listening and responding to Palestinian voices, who’ve guided the direction and shaped the strategy since the beginning.
In 2018, we changed our name to Eyewitness Palestine to clearly reflect our multi-pronged mission: provide transformative experiences that bring people face-to-face with Palestinians’ lived reality and deepen ties between Palestinian communities and diverse movements in North America.
Post-pandemic, Eyewitness Palestine entered a new chapter after a 6-month pause and a clarified direction forged with the hire of Eyewitness Palestine’s first-ever executive director. Under the leadership of longtime Palestinian grassroots organizer and co-founder of Existence is Resistance Nancy Mansour, guidance of our majority BIPOC Board and efforts of all BIPOC staff, we seek to center the needs, voices, and visions of Palestinians more directly now more than ever. Our strategy focuses on building with Palestinians on their terms, including launching a mutual aid program to provide direct support to communities across Palestine. This shift reflects our commitment to accountability, solidarity, and a liberated future led by those most affected.
This ongoing transformation includes updating our communications materials, including our website as well our stated internal, external values and guiding principles to better reflect our renewed spirit and vision around the internal institutional changes that have already taken place.
We look forward to relaunching the updated website soon, and we thank you for your continued support and solidarity.
