As we prepare this issue for publication, the olive harvest, known in Palestine as the season of blessings, is coming to a close. This activity is shared and celebrated by many families who rise early and head to their groves loaded with coffee and tea, a home-baked breakfast (see the recipe in TWiP Kitchen), and many bottles of icy water. Songs can be heard, as well as laughter, banter, and teasing. But in other cases, foreign observers must accompany the farmers and their families to protect them from settler violence that has been increasing in the shadow of the ongoing pandemic.
This issue informs you about numerous aspects of food production in Palestine. Thanks go to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), this year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, for supporting this issue with a gold sponsorship! Thanks go also to the companies that chose TWiP as a platform for communication and to our authors: Bassam Abu Ghalyoun, a food science and technology expert and the general manager of the Palestinian Food Industries Union; Dr. Jason Yapp, an international consultant at WFP involved in developing the Green Climate Fund (GCF) proposal to scale up climate-resilient regenerative agriculture; Yujin Chang, a resilience-building programme associate for WFP Palestine; Engineer Shifa Abu Saadeh, a member of the Engineers Association Jerusalem Center; Sandra Milkovic, a programme officer working with the United Nations in humanitarian emergency contexts; Salah Lahham, the vulnerability and analysis mapping officer at the WFP Jerusalem office; Nihal Nassereddin, a nutritionist at WFP Palestine; Nader Muaddi, the founder of Muaddi Craft Distillery; artist and conservationist Vivien Sansour, the founder of The Palestine Heirloom Seed Library and the Traveling Kitchen project; Roubina Bassous/Ghattas, the founder and director general of Pioneer Consultancy Center for Sustainable Development; Fuad Abu Saif, a human rights defender and leader and developer of hundreds of agricultural programs with a focus on sustainable development and agriculture-plant protection; and artist Mirna Bamieh, the founder of Palestine Hosting Society.
Our Personality of the Month is Bassam Walweel, the book of the month is Palestine on a Plate: Memories from My Mother’s Kitchen by By Joudie Kalla, the two artists of the month are Bashar Alhroub and the late Mohamed Joulani. Visit the Exhibition of the Month Nus Nsais in Bethlehem. TWiP Kitchen invites you to prepare traditional manakeesh bi za’atar, or try the recipes in our Book of the Month Palestine on a Plate. Where to Go takes you to Hosh Traitreh. Enjoy the events listed.
All of us at TWiP wish you good health during these challenging times! Until next month,
