Palestinian and international young people dance at a party in Ramallah
National Public Radio has a feature on the West Bank city of Ramallah, where I live, work and play. It’s an interesting and informative piece about how Ramallah is the economic, political and social center of the Palestinian territories. Indeed, Ramallah is an increasingly wealthy, wealthy city and both locals and expats/visitors alike are accustomed to seeing internationals all over town. You name it: Italians, Spaniards, Scandinavians, Americans, Canadians, Indians, journalists, NGO workers, legal workers, human rights activists. In fact, I often hear from my international friends and our larger circle of Jewish American or Jewish-international friends in Jerusalem that Ramallah has become a preferred option for enjoying nightlife because of the diversity and friendliness.
But the piece rightly offers context for all the positives of Ramallah, by putting it in the larger scene of the economic depression of the rest of the West Bank. Everywhere else, unemployment is at 30 percent, wages are low, and independent industry is nearly impossible under the Israeli military occupation. Those difficulties plus the choked state of Arab East Jerusalem create the conditions that led to Ramallah’s boom: jobs, real estate development and equally sky high prices, etc.
The reporter astutely notes that what’s happening in Ramallah is not an accurate reflection of the rest of the West Bank. And even in Ramallah, the boom is misleading. Most of the money comes either from Palestinians living abroad, or, international donor aid, which props up the economy here.
Listen here:
