Zaytoun May/June 2011 newsletter
Zaytoun on August 2nd, 2011Dear Zaytoun customers and supporters,
We hope you are all well. May has flown by and we are finally finding the time to write our newsletter.
May/June Newsletter
l Delicious Medjoul Dates are here!
l Olive Harvest trips 2011
l International Women’s Peace Service call for volunteers
l Taysir’s report from Palestine
l Upcoming events
l Where to purchase our products
Medjoul Dates
Zaytoun has received a fresh shipment of medjoul dates. The ‘Medjoul’ is known as the king of dates. It is grown in the Jericho area which has the perfect climate for producing these delicious, soft and succulent dates. They are sourced through the ‘Palm Farmers Cooperative’ and are a vital source of income in this area which is seeing vast tracts of land illegally confiscated by Israel for settlement construction.
Zaytoun is working with community groups to promote the Palestinian dates in the run up to Ramadan; if you are a stockist of our dates please let us know so that we can promote you and if you would like to help Zaytoun in getting wider distribution for this product please get in touch with heather@zaytoun.org
Olive Harvest Trips 2011
Every year, Zaytoun organises two trips to Palestine for its supporters and customers. Both of these trips are timed to coincide with the annual olive harvest, usually around the end of October and early November.
The “harvest tour” offer customers the chance to visit many of the communities who supply our products from Nablus soap-makers to olive farmers in Jenin, as well as some support and advocacy organisations who work on behalf of these communities against the injustices of the Israeli occupation. Often the trip ends with a harvest celebration in Jenin, including traditional Palestinian food and dance. Accommodation for the week’s trip is in local hotels or with farmers’ families. Harvest tour will run from October 31st until November 6th, the itinerary can be seen by following this link http://www.zaytoun.org/harvest/harvest-tour/
The “Olive Picking Trip” is a chance for volunteers to work for a fortnight alongside the olive farmers in the groves and enable them to bring their valuable harvest home. Zaytoun has worked with the International Women’s Peace Service since 2005 to coordinate the teams’ placement within different villages in the Salfit and Nablus areas. All volunteers complete an initial application form, followed by a telephone interview and a training and assessment weekend in Britain before acceptance onto the team. Harvest picking trip is being organised now – dates are 5-23 October. If you are interested please email harvest@zaytoun.org as soon as possible to receive further details including an application form and dates of training in the summer
International Human Rights Volunteers Needed in Palestine
The International Women’s Peace Service (IWPS) is a small team of international female human-rights activists in Palestine.
We:
l provide accompaniment to Palestinian civilians (including farmers during the annual olive harvest),
l document and non-violently intervene in human-rights abuses
l support Palestinians in their non-violent resistance to end the Israeli military occupation and construction of the barrier throughout the West Bank.
IWPS is run entirely by volunteers, committed to peace and justice.
IWPS is currently inviting applications from women who would like to join our team of long-term volunteers.
Successful applicants will be invited to one of our 6 day training programs (European training scheduled Autumn 2011; US training scheduled Sept 2011) and will serve a minimum of one 3 month term in the West Bank, Palestine, as well as supporting our work outside of Palestine.
Applicants should be able to commit to further terms in Palestine of one to three months for a three year period.
Short term volunteers are also welcome to apply (through our usual application process) for minimum volunteer periods of 3 weeks
For more information and to download an application pack please go to: www.iwps.info or contact us on applyiwps@gmail.com
Please apply as soon as possible to be considered for the next training, as places are limited.
Taysir’s report from Palestine
The big worry among the farmers and generally the people of the area of North Salfeet is a movement of settlers in the mountains between Qeera, Deirstya and Zeita Jamaien, who come from the nearby settlements to explore the area with their maps guarded by the army, the fear that they are planning to confiscate the lands and to build new settlement in these lands.
Few days ago they have organized them selves on a big group more than a hundred settler and they were touring on the mountains with the maps and their cameras, and they have walked from Emmanuel settlement to Etzar on the mountains of Nablus.
The farmers of Deirstya started a while ago to plant olive trees in Wadi Qana, but in May they received a military order that the trees that are planted should be uprooted, and the military are planning to proceed soon. This tree planting is being organized by Riziq Abu Nasser who has visited the UK during Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 and 2011.
