Israeli, Palestinian shared olive harvests model
cooperation:
PEACE OIL & SALAM SHALOM Olive Oil on market
Monday, 17 September 2007
Summer is ending, and the olive
harvest is nearing.
Palestinian Hanna Elias' beautiful film, THE OLIVE
HARVEST -- http://theoliveharvest.com/
-- reminds us of the hazardous trap and predictable failure awaiting people who
compete to dominate the same land and trees, the same hoped-for bride.
We can do so much better -- transcend this one-sided
domination, and transform confrontation into collaboration.
Even now, we are creating small models, so people
can see what life down the path will look like.
Peace
negotiations fail because
people
are unwilling to go down a path where they cant see the end.
Dr. Harold
Saunders
Former
Assistant Secretary of State, Negotiator of
"We
have to create a picture of the future."
Admiral
Ami Ayalon
Chief of the Israeli Navy (ret.),
Former Director, Shin Bet, Israeli General Security Services
Just look at one city --
It is the home for:
= = 1 = =
MIDDLE EAST PEACE CAMP
FOR CHILDREN
In
Seattle, Washington, the MIDDLE EAST PEACE CAMP FOR CHILDREN is a grassroots
Arab and Jewish coalition dedicated to embracing our common humanity by empowering
children and youth through education, recreation and leadership development.
READ and LISTEN to recent news reports on
their Web site -- http://middleeastpeacecamp.org/
And it's
happening in the
A world away in the Middle East, Palestinian and
Jewish young people in
Like the
SEE inspiring streaming video of their shared
creativity:
= = 2 = =
PEACE OIL and SALAM
SHALOM Olive Oil
Stories of cooperation since 2006
(A) PEACE
OIL -- Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a joint project of Israelis
& Palestinians -- http://peaceoil.net/
Peace Oil began in late 2005 as an idea of
Israeli, Dani Livney, to
export a mix of Palestinian and Israeli olive oil.
Livney phoned his friend in
Seattle, David Sokal ( DSokal@olivebranch.net ) who said "yes" to
importing, bottling and labeling the new product of cooperation.
In September, 2006, Sokal
was selling PEACE OIL, labeled "The distinct, tangy flavor of fresh olives
at the peak of their nutritional value."
It wasnt exactly a mix of
Israeli and Palestinian oil, but rather Palestinian olive oil grown on many
small farms and pressed using traditional, natural methods of the region.
It is exported by three fair trade groups two of which
are Israel-based and represent collaboration between Jews and Palestinians:
1. Green Action
http://greenaction.org.il/english/
Fair trade activist, Avi Levy, of
Green Action works with Palestinian olive farmers in the three villages of Maskha, Yasuf and Assawiya to export their olive oil. Green Action promotes
fair trade in
2. Sindyanna
of
Arab and Jewish women combine sales
of Arab goods with community work to promote land preservation, environmental
quality, womens empowerment and labor rights. Sindyanna, a member of IFATthe
global network of Fair Trade Organizations works for a future of peace and
prosperity for all people. Sindyanna combines olive
oil from Galilee Arab and some Jewish farmers for use in Peace Oil.
One third of PEACE OIL also comes
from Canaan Fair Trade -- http://canaanfairtrade.com/
-- in Jenin, Palestinian.
These 1,700 small farmers are organized in informal
cooperatives committed to fair trade and sustainable farming, as part of the
Palestine Fair Trade Association (PFTA).
This large cooperative of
David Sokal works directly
with their
(B) SALAM SHALOM Olive Oil
-- Two Farmers, One Premium Gourmet Olive Oil -- http://peaceoil.net/sa-sha.html
Starting in 2007, David Sokal
and Dani Livney
finally realized their dream of producing a mix of Jewish and Palestinian
olive oil -- SALAM SHALOM.
Dani farms the olive grove
in his home in Kibbutz Gezer.
He found Mohammad Ata Daragh,
a Palestinian farmer in a nearby
Mohammad has farmed his fathers
grove since youth and is now teaching his sons to take on the family tradition.
The SALAM SHALOM label is co-designed by two
talented graphic artists:
MORE STORY
From Seattle, David Sokal
of Olive Branch Enterprises -- http://peaceoil.net/ -- remembered 2005 and his first
thoughts.
"The is a good
business opportunity -- something to get behind spiritually and
financially."
"I never hesitated," Sokal
said.
"I want it to succeed, to keep it alive and help it
grow like a baby."
"I keep having amazing experiences with
people I never would have dreamed of meeting.
"And I'm growing internally."
Sokal concluded on the
phone: "As a result of this work I often meet people who are surprised
that anything like the PEACE OIL project could be happening.
"Little do they know that this is only the
tip of the iceberg."