Burin - Olive harvest

All our dreams were fulfilled today, during this olive harvesting.  An outdoor picnic with excellent company and a task that proceeded in a wonderfully pleasant way.  Yitzhar settlers, whose houses are visible from D. grove, did not appear.  The only disappointment was this year’s meager harvest.

D. preparing the spicy tomato salad before placing it in the grove’s metal oven.  The result:  a delicious Palestinian matbukha.

The entire menu comes from D. own crops:  A green ful omelet, eggplants, green and black olives, and much more, and finally wonderful ripe figs.

Such generosity, such joy and laughter accompanied the meal.  Among the harvesters and diners was a famous wedding singer, renowned throughout the West Bank: Mu’id el Burini (center), whose singing we all enjoyed.  I gladly clapped with the others without understanding a word.  It was possible for a moment to forget the dreadful circumstances we all find ourselves in, but we had that painful conversation as well.  El Burini described the increasing restrictions on Palestinian movement through their own land.  I was particularly saddened that he later felt it necessary to apologize to us for dampening everyone’s spirits.

M. is studying English and Hebrew at Al Najah University in Nablus and intends to study International Relations.  There are only 17 students of Hebrew at the university, learning to read but not to speak.

For a long time, I’ve wanted to introduce them.  My son speaks Arabic very well.  The idea was for them to teach each other – he’d teach her Hebrew, she’d teach him Arabic, over the phone.  Both of them speak English very well; they’ll be sure not to lose their way.