The Palestinian Olive Harvest, 2008
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A couple of weeks ago I finally decided that it was time to
stop bitching and go out and do something. So…it’s olives
again - this time near Shchem, more specifically between
the village of Jitt and settlement of Kedumim. I established
contact with one of the many groups who are going out to
help the Palestinians with the harvest – and reserved
myself a place on a minibus going with the Rabbis for
Human Rights.
The group is part of the “Olive Harvest Coalition” – a joint
effort that includes most of the peace movements in
Israel. We were collected at the train station at Rosh
HaAyin and were soon turning towards Ariel and the
landscape became that of the West Bank that I have not
seen for many years. Rolling hills were dotted with villages
of which I was reminded when I went to Jordan last year.
Hilltops are, of course, dotted with red-roofed Jewish
settlements. We passed through one checkpoint but were
not stopped and continued on until we reached the olive
press in the village of Jitt.
On the way we were told that the Rabbis for Human Rights
is an organization that is not affiliated with any political
party or any stream of Judaism, but is a non-violent
organization that seeks to uphold the rights of the
Palestinians.
The Palestinians were first ambivalent towards the idea of
Israelis coming to join them in the harvest, since the
settlers had already filled them with mistrust. The first
attempts were thwarted by the army, which drew a
separation line between the Palestinians and those
seeking to enter the area and help. Objections were
made that if the settlers could enter the area, why couldn’t
they, and a woman ran forward and crossed the line. Tear
gas grenades were launched, a scuffle broke out, but the
line had been crossed and the volunteers won. There
were going to be Jews around the harvest other than the
settlers from then on.
I soon began to realize that our role here was not to
provide manpower to help with the olive harvest as much
as to serve as protection and to provide a human shield
against settlers who constantly harass the Palestinians
and attempt to prevent them from harvesting their olives
and working their land. The organization also works to
plant fields that have been uprooted by settlers as well as
plow new fields. We were given instructions that if there
was any trouble we were to stand between the farmers
and settlers and try and defuse tie situation. Diffuse the
situation? I wondered just how I would do that - as such a
situation would probably have me so hot-headed that I’d
do exactly the opposite!
We soon reached the grove and trekked up a stony
hillside to the grove. We were met by three young farmers
and were soon standing under the first tree pulling off
olives that were far more plentiful, far more beautiful, and
larger than our fruit in Ben Ami. I was soon up a ladder
and gazing out over the landscape.
I had hoped to talk more with the Palestinian farmers, but
my as of yet inadequate knowledge of Arabic and their
lack of knowledge of Hebrew and English prevented
striking up a real conversation. I did talk with the other
volunteers as well as the reporter and photographer, who
continued taking pictures with a camera that had a lens
the diameter of an RPG. I put him to work with my own
camera as well.
At midday we all sat down to a meal in the field – real olive
oil, labaneh, pita, and oh yes, olives….then back to the
pick. It soon became evident that the main difficulty we
would face that day was not settlers, but the weather.
Suddenly the wind whipped up, the sky began to turn
black, and thunder rumbled in the distance. Pretty soon
the mother of all thunderstorms was upon us and large
drops of rain were falling. Everyone ran for their
backpacks to grab raingear, but before long we were all
under one of the tarpaulins attempting not too successfully
to keep dry. It was then decided that we were going to
have to quit – and we began the ten minute trek back to
the road, where we all boarded the bus laden with at least
two kilos of mud. We stopped at the olive press, where I
purchased some genuine olive oil – glad to patronize the
local farmers. (This is truly the real stuff!)
Before I left on this day’s venture, I had told myself: “I want
to see what is going on over there.” Luckily we did not see
any violence, but there has been a lot. It did not take an
incident to impress upon me the vastness of the situation:
to see the new roads that wind around the villages,
connecting Jewish settlements and inconveniencing the
local people to drive longer distances between their
villages, the newly built settlements that look so very out of
place in the landscape. The realization that this is it – this
is what is being talked about and this is the “situation on
the ground” made me feel that we are truly up against a
reality that we are powerless to change unless the
government does some true soul- searching, changes
policy, and stops giving in to the settler enterprise. I ask
myself why we have to go and serve as human shields
against our own people so that Palestinians can farm their
land? Will the tiny trickle of Israelis who are doing this
truly make a dent in the Palestinians’ attitude when they
are surrounded by what is going on there on a daily
basis?
It was encouraging to work beside people, to hear them
thank us when we left – but at the same time I feel
discouraged – the Palestinians are so powerless, and are
being ruled by a military government who has not lifted a
finger to even take responsibility to protect them against
Jews who are breaking the law and harassing them. The
Jewish volunteers have been covered in the press, but I
am afraid the settlers are making a bigger impression on
the Palestinians and the world than we are.
stop bitching and go out and do something. So…it’s olives
again - this time near Shchem, more specifically between
the village of Jitt and settlement of Kedumim. I established
contact with one of the many groups who are going out to
help the Palestinians with the harvest – and reserved
myself a place on a minibus going with the Rabbis for
Human Rights.
The group is part of the “Olive Harvest Coalition” – a joint
effort that includes most of the peace movements in
Israel. We were collected at the train station at Rosh
HaAyin and were soon turning towards Ariel and the
landscape became that of the West Bank that I have not
seen for many years. Rolling hills were dotted with villages
of which I was reminded when I went to Jordan last year.
Hilltops are, of course, dotted with red-roofed Jewish
settlements. We passed through one checkpoint but were
not stopped and continued on until we reached the olive
press in the village of Jitt.
On the way we were told that the Rabbis for Human Rights
is an organization that is not affiliated with any political
party or any stream of Judaism, but is a non-violent
organization that seeks to uphold the rights of the
Palestinians.
The Palestinians were first ambivalent towards the idea of
Israelis coming to join them in the harvest, since the
settlers had already filled them with mistrust. The first
attempts were thwarted by the army, which drew a
separation line between the Palestinians and those
seeking to enter the area and help. Objections were
made that if the settlers could enter the area, why couldn’t
they, and a woman ran forward and crossed the line. Tear
gas grenades were launched, a scuffle broke out, but the
line had been crossed and the volunteers won. There
were going to be Jews around the harvest other than the
settlers from then on.
I soon began to realize that our role here was not to
provide manpower to help with the olive harvest as much
as to serve as protection and to provide a human shield
against settlers who constantly harass the Palestinians
and attempt to prevent them from harvesting their olives
and working their land. The organization also works to
plant fields that have been uprooted by settlers as well as
plow new fields. We were given instructions that if there
was any trouble we were to stand between the farmers
and settlers and try and defuse tie situation. Diffuse the
situation? I wondered just how I would do that - as such a
situation would probably have me so hot-headed that I’d
do exactly the opposite!
We soon reached the grove and trekked up a stony
hillside to the grove. We were met by three young farmers
and were soon standing under the first tree pulling off
olives that were far more plentiful, far more beautiful, and
larger than our fruit in Ben Ami. I was soon up a ladder
and gazing out over the landscape.
I had hoped to talk more with the Palestinian farmers, but
my as of yet inadequate knowledge of Arabic and their
lack of knowledge of Hebrew and English prevented
striking up a real conversation. I did talk with the other
volunteers as well as the reporter and photographer, who
continued taking pictures with a camera that had a lens
the diameter of an RPG. I put him to work with my own
camera as well.
At midday we all sat down to a meal in the field – real olive
oil, labaneh, pita, and oh yes, olives….then back to the
pick. It soon became evident that the main difficulty we
would face that day was not settlers, but the weather.
Suddenly the wind whipped up, the sky began to turn
black, and thunder rumbled in the distance. Pretty soon
the mother of all thunderstorms was upon us and large
drops of rain were falling. Everyone ran for their
backpacks to grab raingear, but before long we were all
under one of the tarpaulins attempting not too successfully
to keep dry. It was then decided that we were going to
have to quit – and we began the ten minute trek back to
the road, where we all boarded the bus laden with at least
two kilos of mud. We stopped at the olive press, where I
purchased some genuine olive oil – glad to patronize the
local farmers. (This is truly the real stuff!)
Before I left on this day’s venture, I had told myself: “I want
to see what is going on over there.” Luckily we did not see
any violence, but there has been a lot. It did not take an
incident to impress upon me the vastness of the situation:
to see the new roads that wind around the villages,
connecting Jewish settlements and inconveniencing the
local people to drive longer distances between their
villages, the newly built settlements that look so very out of
place in the landscape. The realization that this is it – this
is what is being talked about and this is the “situation on
the ground” made me feel that we are truly up against a
reality that we are powerless to change unless the
government does some true soul- searching, changes
policy, and stops giving in to the settler enterprise. I ask
myself why we have to go and serve as human shields
against our own people so that Palestinians can farm their
land? Will the tiny trickle of Israelis who are doing this
truly make a dent in the Palestinians’ attitude when they
are surrounded by what is going on there on a daily
basis?
It was encouraging to work beside people, to hear them
thank us when we left – but at the same time I feel
discouraged – the Palestinians are so powerless, and are
being ruled by a military government who has not lifted a
finger to even take responsibility to protect them against
Jews who are breaking the law and harassing them. The
Jewish volunteers have been covered in the press, but I
am afraid the settlers are making a bigger impression on
the Palestinians and the world than we are.
I ask myself why we have to go
and serve as human shields
against our own people so that
Palestinians can farm their
land? Will the tiny trickle of
Israelis who are doing this truly
make a dent in the Palestinians’
attitude when they are
surrounded by what is going on
there on a daily basis?
Coming to grips with the reality
on the ground - helping with the
olive harvest in the West Bank
Next trip planned: Tuesday,
November 11th
Left: Fruit in the orchard near Jitt: far
more beautiful than ours!
and serve as human shields
against our own people so that
Palestinians can farm their
land? Will the tiny trickle of
Israelis who are doing this truly
make a dent in the Palestinians’
attitude when they are
surrounded by what is going on
there on a daily basis?
Coming to grips with the reality
on the ground - helping with the
olive harvest in the West Bank
Next trip planned: Tuesday,
November 11th
Left: Fruit in the orchard near Jitt: far
more beautiful than ours!
Olives - Again...
working in the olive harvest: It occurred
to me that changing the clothing and
changing the material of the bags from
plastic to some woven cloth would make
this picture timeless.
to me that changing the clothing and
changing the material of the bags from
plastic to some woven cloth would make
this picture timeless.
Me up a tree...
Lunch in the field - Pita, labaneh,
sandwiches, humus, and oh
yes...olives!
sandwiches, humus, and oh
yes...olives!
The lovely landscape as the mother of
all thunderstorms rolls in. It's a shame
I can't post the sound effects.
all thunderstorms rolls in. It's a shame
I can't post the sound effects.
Our hosts under the tarpaulin with us
attempting (unsuccessfully) to keep
dry. Inclement weather brought the
day to an end.
attempting (unsuccessfully) to keep
dry. Inclement weather brought the
day to an end.