November 2007

Dear Friends and Family,

A Palestinian family picks olives in Yanoun. Photo by Karin Brown.

This month, celebrations will mark the culmination of the olive harvest in this region. It has been a busy few weeks of intense picking and transporting the olives to the oil producers for crushing, bottling, and shipping.

Taking part in the harvest has not only been meaningful to the building of communal relationships, but a rich glimpse into Palestinian culture and the part that olive trees play in their lives.

It reminded us of our participation years ago in the gleaning program of our church in the United States. Based on Deuteronomy 24:19-20, our church group would join others to pick crop remains, knowing the produce would find its way to the tables of many less fortunate than ourselves.

Having been reared in the city, we found the opportunity to spend time in an agricultural setting to be invigorating and gratifying. And as with the gleaning process, olive picking served to remind us of the wonder of God’s creative provision and humanity’s profound union with the land.

Schools are closed so that students can take part in the observation of the national olive-picking holiday. Photo by Paul Buck

The olive tree is a symbol of life in the Middle East because it has sustained a large sector of the population for centuries, either through its edible byproducts or by olive wood carvings and soap. Schools are closed so that students can take part in the observation of the national olive-picking holiday and in the festivals that celebrate the end of the gathering and to give thanks for what the good earth has yielded to maintain another year of life for the people.

It is understandable then, that mourning has become part of the harvest observance, as many Palestinians have lost the olive trees that provide their only source of income. One of our network members, the YWCA, which sponsors the “Keep Hope Alive” program, reports that more than 500,000 olive trees have been destroyed since the beginning of the second intifada in 2000 for the stated purpose of building the wall and the roads, or related to the land-grab to build settlements.

Without the help of international volunteers and organizations dedicated to helping save these farmers’ orchards, the livelihoods of countless more farmers would be lost. Photo by Mark Holman.

The concept of gleaning on behalf of others has taken on new meaning, as it has entered into the harvest of Palestine’s olives. Occupation has left another mark as many farmers have been separated from their trees either by the wall or the arduous checkpoint system in which the Israeli-allocated permits are given and taken away without regard to their consequences in the lives of Palestinians.

In these zones, only the farmer is allowed on the land; all other Palestinians are forbidden. Without the help of international individuals and organizations dedicated to helping save these farmers’ orchards, the livelihoods of countless more farmers would be lost. Many people plan trips here specifically to participate in the harvest and join in the celebrations.

That’s what a couple of our fellow Presbyterians did. Peter Mann and the Reverend Vern Maxa visited Palestine recently with the express objective of joining the harvest and helping others. Their contribution was invaluable to those who otherwise would have been forced to leave olives to rot due to lack of pickers.

In an effort to not only regain some of their losses, but also provide for future generations, the Keep Hope Alive program provides for the replanting of 50,000 trees and also creates the opportunity to participate in the planting.

These programs are a small sample of the kinds of activities that people at home can do to help break the cycle of imposed poverty and injustice here. Many PC(USA) churches across America received missionaries during the month of October as a part of the Mission Challenge ’07. If your church was one of them, we too want to thank you for hosting our colleagues, hearing their stories and mission experiences, opening your hearts to mission financial support, and encouraging the work all of us have undertaken!

Grace and Peace,

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 170