I'm Jewish & went to the West Bank to help the olive harvest AMA

[Echobelly]

I got back at the weekend from a week-long trip organised by a consortium of Jewish and Israeli charities and voluntary organisations. We spent 5 days in the West Bank assisting Palestinian farmers with their olive harvest, so AMA, I guess!

What did the harvesting work entail?

I admire your positivity and warmth. I respectfully suggest it is easier to have continued goodwill if you don’t live in Israel.

I think there's a decent minority of Israelis who'd be sympathetic, but only a minority. The mainstream media propagandises hard to the Israeli public according to Israeli activists who spoke to us, there is low awareness of what's really going on in Gaza and the West Bank. I appreciate there is a bias with their view, of course. But I think there is certainly a strong angle to conflate Hamas with all Palestinians under Netanyahu and his ilk.

It's definitely different not living Israel- I appreciate I could not possibly feel the same degree of fear and anger about 7 October.

Netanyahu is generally viewed positively by the Israeli population and his policies more as a matter of survival rather than expansionist, but I think an increasing minority is behind expansionism. I fear the current US government is helping to popularise that.

@Chinatowns - on the final day I was a bit scared because we were literally racing against time to get the minibus back from a village up the road to pick us up before Settlers either blocked the bus with their car, or feared we might have to drive past their car and they might throw things at the bus and break the windows. As it was they let it past, but blocked our exit in the bus. Fortunately there was an alternative route out and also they seemed to be leaving as we managed to take it (the bus had trouble making it up the hill because our luggage was in the back). It was quite tense.

When we were detained I was also a little alarmed when we were taken to a police station in the Settlement as I was slightly worried they would behave in a more extreme manner towards us, but I don't think it was any worse than any other one would have been in the end.

Amazing @Echobelly you should be so proud of yourself doing something so proactive. So interesting reading about your experiences.
Did you go by yourself or do any family or friends go with you?

No special skills, it's quite easy, you pull the olives off with hands or a little plastic rake onto a tarpaulin on the ground, then collect them all up into a sack. People used ladders or climbed into the trees to get the higher ones.

@bellinisurge - I totally understand, I know its easier for me to be open to this than for anyone more directly affected by October 7th.

Just me - my husband was a bit worried about safety and said he'd like to do it, but maybe best to do it one of us at a time. Several people came with friends, siblings or adult children though.

My oldest DC wants to go and do a longer & riskier protective presence project next summer which scares the hell out of me!

Thank you for going as a volunteer peacekeeper. If I had my health I would stand beside you.

Totally understand that but how proud should you be at the values you have passed on to dc.

I won’t link to them as advertising is banned on MN, and because this forum is monitored closely by propagandists on the other side, but those who can afford it can buy Palestinian olive oil online as another way to support these farmers.

If only the world had much more yous xx🌻

The good news is there were many people in this group - around 70 altogether, many of them people who spend a lot of time in the West Bank helping people and attempting to build bridges between communities. We also met two young men from Bnei Avraham, a group of Orthodox Israeli Jews dedicated to this work.

One very brave young man in my group had actually spent some of his youth living with his parents in a settlement but had then refused his military service and spent 4 months in prison - he could only have been in his mid 20s.

Wow youre amazing! Such a worthwhile thing to do.

Thanks for your reply Echobelly. I think I'm more persuaded by confederation type proposals like 'A Land for All' than a hard-line separation because they account for the importance of historical, cultural, religious and emotional attachments to areas of the land whilst also recognising the need to protect self-determination for both peoples.

I fear that's now a very long way off, though. Too much trust lost.

I admire what you did in striving for tikkun olam. X