Call for a #PeacefulHarvest in Palestine

Families working togather

Source: The EAPPI UK & Ireland team

The World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme writes: At this time of year, the olive harvest season in Palestine is beginning. Families and community members, young and old, gather in olive groves for days and weeks of hard work. Their trees, some of them several hundred years old, tell stories of continuity, of rootedness and of resilience. Laughter and food are shared under the trees. It is a time of joy, but also a time of struggle and suffering for many Palestinians living under the Israeli occupation.

Restrictions on movement, denial of access to land, demolitions of agricultural buildings, the building of settlements and violent attacks and harassment by extremist settlers harm Palestinian farmers and their families.

This year, Covid-19 has left many communities more vulnerable than ever to human rights abuses, since many Israeli and international peace activists who would usually provide protection during the harvest are unable to be present.

Read on to find out how you can help...

1. Join our launch webinar
Join us as we launch the Olive Harvest Initiative on Wednesday 21 October at 2 - 2.45pm UK/Ireland time at www.oikoumene.org/live (no need to register). Learn about the human rights impact of the occupation and the spiritual, economic and cultural importance of the olive harvest for Palestinian communities.

2. Join on social media

We will be sharing regular posts with updates from the field and opportunities for action throughout the olive harvest. You can help!
• Follow us on @eappiukireland (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram)
• Share/retweet others' posts with #PeacefulHarvest
• Post saying why you call for a #PeacefulHarvest. You can use our resource gallery, which contains photos and graphics for social media and will be updated as we receive information from the ground during the olive harvest. To download from the gallery, click on the item and then click on the icon with an arrow pointing down in the lower right-hand corner of your screen.

3. Contact your MP/TD

We need our politicians to speak out about the ongoing human rights abuses of the occupation. Please contact them ask them to do this.

• UK - email for MPs (find your MP's details)
• Ireland - email for TDs (find your TD's details)

In your email explain why you are concerned about this issue. Make sure to include your home address in your email so that your MP/TD knows that you are one of their constituents.

4. Contact your parish priest

We are asking church leaders to speak out for a #PeacefulHarvest in the Holy Land. If you are a member of a church, please contact your church leader to ask them to support the Olive Harvest Initiative and work for a just peace.

Thank you for joining us and our colleagues around the world in this special initiative organised by the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (WCC-EAPPI). Look out on our social media channels over the coming weeks for reflections on the economic, cultural and spiritual meaning of the season and up-to-date testimonies about the situation on the ground.

The EAPPI UK & Ireland team