Week 11: Olive Trees Online Gathering

Week 11: Olive Trees Online Gathering

Join us Tuesday, March 16 at 6pm Jerusalem time for an online gathering as we learn about the role of olive trees in Palestinian culture and the economy, and how Israeli settlers continue to wage war by destroying these ancient trees. Our guest is Father Raed Abu Sahlieh, founder of the Olive Branch Foundation.

Please register to join us. Here are the details:

Time: Tuesday, March 16, at 6:00 PM East Jerusalem, Palestine time (UTC+2) That’s…

  • Pacific (Seattle/Vancouver): 9am
  • Central (Chicago): 11am
  • Eastern (New York/Toronto): 12pm
  • Atlantic: 1pm
  • Newfoundland: 1:30pm
  • Greenwich (London): 4pm
  • Central Europe (Paris/Stockholm): 5pm
  • South Africa: 5pm
  • Manila: 12pm

Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/94679502800 (You need to quickly register with Zoom, and it will immediately give you a personalized link to the meeting.)

More about our guests:

Father Raed Abu Sahlieh is a Catholic Priest in the village of Taybeh about 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) north-east of Jerusalem, is the founder of the Olive Branch Foundation. Their workshop employs over 30 people from the village and surrounding community who otherwise would not have work.

From the discussion/chat:

  • “The Olive Tree” by Loreen: https://youtu.be/z3wTCLPVMEU
  • The Present, by Farah Nablusi: https://www.farahnabulsi.com
  • To screen on Netflix: https://www.broadcastprome.com/news/oscar-nominated-short-film-the-present-to-stream-exclusively-on-netflix/
  • Near Jenin is the home of Canaan Palestine fair trade olive oil: https://canaanusa.com/
  • The Land of Canaan Foundation was founded in 2013 to support farm communities and village-based cooperatives in Palestine. https://www.landofcanaanfoundation.org/
  • Here’s more info about the Peace Lamps: https://holylandartisans.tripod.com/id11.html Their items list: https://holylandartisans.tripod.com/id8.html
  • Father Abu Sahlieh has other remarkable projects as well. You can learn a bit more about him at https://www.lpj.org/priests/fr-raed-abu-sahlieh.html.
  • Old Olive Trees of Palestine: https://www.facebook.com/Old-Olive-Trees-Of-Palestine-أشجار-الزيتون-المُعمِّرة-في-فلسطين-102385421827687
  • For people in Canada and the US, you can also order Palestinian fair trade olive oil produced by Canaan under the Zatoun label by going to https://zatoun.com/shop/
  • I was just going to mention the cactus. When I’m driving around Israel and see the cactuses, I then use the iNakba app and usually there is a Palestinian village listed in the area: https://zochrot.org/en/keyword/45323
  • Even if you don’t recognize his name, Naji al-Ali, you’ll probably recognize his art: https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-08-31/revisiting-great-palestinian-cartoonist-naji-al-ali-30-years-after-his
  • All of his videos are on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9jDFCzpkzdfr02PcGK6NSQ
  • Our entry with Zochrot addressed the JNF and the foresting over of the villages. Lots of links about the different parks: https://kuminow.com/zochrot/
  • For those as ignorant as me about Emmaus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmaus and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmaus_Nicopolis
  • If you’re now looking to buy some olive oil, remember our Shop Palestine guide: https://kuminow.com/shop-palestinian/
  • The book he keeps talking about is All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948, by Walid Khalidi. It is available in English, but is pricey. https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/1649445
  • Saplings sponsored in UK ~ via https://zaytoun.uk/plant-a-tree
  • And two previous entries addressed olive trees:
  • Zaytoun: https://kuminow.com/zaytoun/
  • JAI: https://kuminow.com/jai/