With some help we did two days of work to harvest the five olive trees in
our home garden (total 240 kilos) followed by six days to harvest the many
trees in the museum garden (still two trees left). Jessie, Zohar, and I
were thus harvesting for eight days. I counted 44 people who helped at
different times over these days (including Israelis and internationals). I
especially want to thank Mohammad Najajreh who was there throughout the
days of harvest at the museum garden and is now helping his family harvest
their olives in Nahhalin. While muscles are aching and skin is darkened,
the psychological boost of harvesting olives and the physical gain of
exercising is hard to describe. I did write one article many years ago on
the deeper meaning of the olive tree which was reprinted last year here:
http://www.albiladdailyeng.com/olive-tree-not-just-ordinary-tree/

Hundreds
of international volunteers used to come to help farmers harvest their
olives near the apartheid wall or near colonial settlements that are
expanding and taking over their lands. This year this could not happen due
to COVID-19 and settler attacks on native farmers escalated. Yesterday we
did stop by on a tour of Al-walaja village to visit the grave of Martyr
Basil Alaraj. I noted the olive tree planted next to his grave is bearing
good fruits. He would have love to pick olives with us.

There is ‘Awnah’ (people helping other people) and some farmers hired some
help when they could afford it. This also helped give temporary employment
to some (unemployment rate is very high here due to colonial occupation
policies). At any rate, the oil presses are working at full capacity and
thus there is this temporary boost to the economy. For us at the museum and
the 82 farmers we support, we have also planted the winter crops (lettuce,
cabbage, cauliflower, onion, beans, garlic etc). They are all growing very
well. Despite ups and downs, life is good, people are good, and there is
hope for the future. The global awakening is ongoing.
Finally this is a transcript of a radio program about the olives and the
pine. You will see its relevance to politics of domination
http://outsideinradio.org/transcript-the-olive-and-the-pine

Act: The US Boat to Gaza campaign has this auction, which you may want to
participate in or share https://www.32auctions.com/usboatstogaza

The suspension of Jeremy Corbyn from the Labour Party is a travesty of
justice. And no, the takeover of the party by racist zionists will not
produce anything good for them or the good people of the UK (puppets of
Zionism never do well long term)
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/israel-lobby-slaughters-corbyn-again
see also https://fb.watch/1t8xzV-VDE/

Boycott Puma
http://cpavancouver.org/2020/10/boycottpuma-give-puma-the-boot/
https://bdsmovement.net/boycott-puma

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain given ‘Friends of Zion’ award
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201020-saudi-arabia-the-uae-and-bahrain-given-friends-of-zion-award/

On the US election: I would agree that “The best way to predict the future
is to create it” (Abraham Lincoln). I would add : Don't just vote - revolt

Stay Human and keep Palestine alive

Mazin Qumsiyeh
A bedouin in cyberspace, a villager at home
Professor, Founder, and (volunteer) Director
Palestine Museum of Natural History
Palestine Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability
Bethlehem University
Occupied Palestine
http://qumsiyeh.org
http://palestinenature.org
facebook pages
Personal https://www.facebook.com/mazin.qumsiyeh.9
Museum
https://www.facebook.com/Palestine-Museum-of-Natural-History-1454309858180882/
Be GREEN, keep it on the SCREEN