When rabble.ca’s Judy Rebick spoke to Robert David this May, they had something in common. David, director of overseas programs for Montreal-based Alternatives, had just returned from Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. Rebick was preparing to join a new mission to the region. She’s there now.

Robert David was in the Occupied Territories between April 9-19, just after hostilities intensified on March 29. He was part of an international fact-finding and protection effort sparked by the Brazilian organizers of the World Social Forum. The team entered “military zones” under curfew, met with NGOs and peace groups, joined peace rallies and aid convoys, and held a news conference in Jerusalem.

David returned to the region between May 3-10 on a mission led by Alternatives. He spoke to Judy Rebick upon his return.

A second Alternatives-led mission arrived in the Middle East yesterday. Judy Rebick is on that team, joined by social activist Monique Simard and three students of Israeli and Palestinian origin. Watch rabble news this week for Judy’s dispatches from the region.