The Olive Press Blog

7 Ways Palestinians Are Celebrating Olive Harvest This Year

by Anera

November 2, 2017

Posted in: 

As November begins, Palestine is in the midst of its olive harvest season, which began last month. That means that from Gaza to the West Bank, Palestinian farmers are heading to their trees to pick the ripe fruit, gather and sort it, and send it off to local presses to make staples like olive oil and handmade soap. But olives mean much more than tasty cooking and silky soaps. They are the fruit of an ancient symbol of Palestine: rooted to the land, hardy against the odds, and bearing branches of peace. Below, we look at 7 ways Palestinians are ringing in the olive harvest.

1. Taking the whole family out to the groves.


2. Basking in piles of ripe, juicy fruit.


3. Getting kids involved in the classroom.


4. Singing songs of devotion to the olive trees.


5. Bringing bushels of pickings to local presses.


6. Homemade olive oil—just add za’atar.


7. Preserving an ancient symbol of peace.

OUR BLOG

Related

October 21, 2021

A Primer on Water in Gaza

by Anera

Our Anera materials have often quoted the statistics that say somewhere between 90% to 97% of Gaza’s water is undrinkable. The numbers come from a multitude of trusted sources, including our own teams of engineers on the ground. Perhaps you…

Read More

October 15, 2021

A Scary Time in Lebanon

by Samar El-Yassir

Yesterday was a scary day in Beirut. Protests and gunfire went on for many hours. Many of the bullets were flying very near Anera’s office. Six people died and more than 30 were injured. Thankfully, our staff was able to…

Read More

October 15, 2021

A Timeline of Crises in Lebanon

by Anera

Lebanon is in survival mode. Yesterday hours of protests and gunfire killed six people and injured more than 30. The economy has collapsed, there is no functioning government, families have only a few hours of electricity a day and the…

Read More