Israeli volunteers join Palestinians to harvest olives and show solidarity
As-salamu alaykum. Walking down a rocky slope with surprising agility, 83-year-old Israeli Gabriella Goldschmidt made her way into a valley near the village of Mukhmas in the occupied West Bank, unsure whether she’d spend the morning picking olives or face confrontation from much younger settlers. “What the settlers do here is so outrageous. I can’t stand by without doing something. I can at least show solidarity with the villagers,” she said while moving in a group of about 30 Jewish Israeli volunteers escorted by several Palestinian farmers.
Though she couldn’t climb high in the olive trees like the younger helpers, Ms Goldschmidt’s presence as an Israeli Jew may have been the difference that allowed the Palestinians to bring in their crop that day. Volunteers hope that when Israelis are present, authorities are likelier to respond if violent settlers from nearby hilltops try to stop the harvest, a problem that has intensified this year.
The olive harvest is vital to the rural economy in the West Bank. If settlers prevent farmers from gathering their olives, village life becomes unsustainable and communities risk being emptied. Some shepherding families, even more vulnerable, have already left. The annual harvest also carries deep cultural meaning across the Palestinian territories, from families in the West Bank to the lost groves in Gaza, which once produced thousands of tonnes each year but have been devastated by war.
In calmer times the harvest was a celebration. Now, videos of clashes in groves appear almost daily, showing violent scenes that have driven groups to organise protective visits. Civil society groups arrange transport from cities so volunteers can help at olive groves; some sites see dozens of activists at once. Even though violence has occurred with volunteers present, many believe their presence reduces the risk.
Still, the attacks have not stopped. Recent UN figures recorded dozens of settler attacks across many villages tied to the harvest, with hundreds injured and thousands of trees vandalised. The Palestinian Farmers’ Union says attacks this year are far higher than before the Gaza war two years ago.
For farmers the concern is immediate survival. Shukri Abu Ali, 38, whose groves were being harvested that day, says the year has been financially devastating, with much land inaccessible because of the threat from settlers at the nearby outpost of Ma'ale Mikhmas. “We’ve had zero economic activity this year,” he said. “If these conditions remain, we could lose everything. Attacks have grown worse in the last two to three months - sometimes a few people, sometimes dozens, and they come armed.”
He welcomed the volunteers: “These people want peace. We want peace. I feel relief when I see them, from any country. Without them, I couldn’t do anything.”
That day ended peacefully, apart from a brief visit from the Israeli military checking whether the farmers had permission to be on their land. Other visits have led to detentions, crowd control and even the removal of foreign volunteers.
For some Israeli volunteers, the experience raises painful questions about the future of their country and conscience. “I used to be a Zionist. Now I ask myself whether I really am. It’s very sad,” Ms Goldschmidt reflected. She remains sober about prospects for change: “Maybe things will get better in the long run, but I won’t be around to see it.”
May Allah grant ease and justice to those affected, and may peaceful, protected harvests return to these groves. Salam.
https://www.thenationalnews.co