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Volunteers Needed for Autumn 2008 Olive Harvest

ByAsa Wistansley, November 2007

The Olive Harvest is an annual affirmation of Palestinians’ historical, spiritual and economic connection to their land, and a rejection of Israeli efforts to seize it. As the indigenous people of this land, Palestinians have farmed olives here for thousands of years. The annual harvest is a symbol of life for Palestinian communities. Sadly, agricultural productivity over the last seven years has decreased dramatically because of closures and sieges that prohibit access to farms and markets. Over half a million olive and fruit trees have been destroyed since September 2000. Palestinian agriculture is being destroyed by the policies of the Israeli government, and the rights of Palestinians to their land and to a livelihood are being denied.

International and Israeli volunteers join Palestinians each year to harvest olives, despite efforts by Israeli settlers and soldiers with bulldozers to destroy this vital centerpiece of Palestinian life.

A family takes a lunch break during the olive harvest in Rujeeb with an ISM volunteer

Photo credit: Schlomo Bloom

The 2008 Olive Harvest Campaign is part of the ongoing work of the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian-led movement of Palestinian, Israeli and international activists working to raise awareness about the struggle for Palestinian freedom. ISM uses nonviolent, direct-action methods of resistance to confront and challenge Israeli persecution of Palestinians. With your participation, we will expose the injustice of the Israeli Occupation and send a message to the world that the Occupation must end and the wall must fall!

Please come to Palestine and join ISM for the 2008 Olive Harvest Campaign.