Like many American Jews, I was brought up to see Israel as infallible. Living among Palestinians taught me vital truths about the reality of the occupation.

I finished that year [his “year in Israel”] with little understanding of Israel’s occupation. While I noticed more “Arabs” (the word “Palestinians” never crossed our lips) around my settlement than in Israel proper, I remained oblivious to their reality of living under foreign military rule, with no citizenship or voting rights.