EU Envoy Highlights Cooperative Olive Harvest Amidst Israeli Conflict
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The EU Ambassador to Israel, Michael Mann, visited the Galilee to participate in a cooperative olive harvest, aiming to highlight positive Jewish-Arab collaboration amidst conflict. He visited the Rish Lakish farm and Sindyana of Galilee, an organization run by Arab and Jewish women, learning about their joint efforts and challenges, including boycotts. Mann expressed inspiration from those working for a shared future, noting the olive tree's ancient symbolism of peace.
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- EU Ambassador Michael Mann participated in a cooperative olive harvest in Israel's Galilee.
- Mann aimed to showcase positive Jewish-Arab cooperation, countering narratives of violence.
- He visited Rish Lakish farm and Sindyana of Galilee, meeting with Arab and Jewish women.
- Sindyana of Galilee faces boycotts and a 40% drop in export orders.
- Mann called the olive harvest a symbol of peace, inspired by those working for a shared future.
Michael Mann, the EU Ambassador to Israel, participated in an olive harvest in the Galilee, aiming to showcase a different side of the annual event, one focused on cooperation rather than conflict. "I've never picked olives and I've never used this tool," Mann remarked, holding a long pole and attempting to dislodge fruit from a tree, adding "it's great fun," though his expression suggested otherwise in the October sun.
Mann visited the Rish Lakish farm and the Sindyana of Galilee visitor center with the explicit goal of demonstrating that not all olive harvests are associated with violence. "He came to show the beautiful side of the harvest, that not everything happening around olives is violence," explained Ayala Noy-Meir, an agronomist and manager at Rish Lakish. Hadas Lahav, CEO of Sindyana of Galilee, added that the ambassador wanted to report to his superiors about positive aspects of life in Israel, countering the narrative of a bloody conflict often associated with the olive harvest.
Rish Lakish cultivates approximately 6,000 olive trees, some over a thousand years old, managed by Ali Abu Shahada, whose family originates from a village on whose ruins the community of Tzifor is built. Mann spent three hours at the farm, participating in the harvest and learning about the complexities, history, optimism, and partnership that characterize the site. "Like in the territories, only the opposite," Noy-Meir commented on the Jewish-Arab cooperation.
From Tzifor, Mann proceeded to Kfar Kana to meet with the women of Sindyana of Galilee, an organization run jointly by Arab and Jewish women who manage a 30-dunam olive grove and market their award-winning organic olive oil globally. "It was very moving," said Lahav, impressed by Mann's understanding of the conflict and Israeli reality. They also discussed the boycott Sindyana faces. Despite being a Fair Trade organization, Sindyana has experienced a significant drop in export orders, approximately 40% in the last two years, due to increasing animosity towards Israeli products. While some instances are explicit, like a Brooklyn cooperative refusing Israeli goods, others are more subtle, citing "business considerations."
Mann concluded his visit by posting on Facebook, calling the olive harvest a symbol of peace for millennia. He expressed sadness that the harvest has become a site of violence but was inspired by individuals working towards a better shared future. He noted, "Today I witnessed how this ancient symbol gains tangible meaning thanks to people who work daily for a better shared future."
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