The olive tree is as essential to Palestine as life itself. Constituting a tremendous part of the economy, especially in rural villages, the olive harvest is a celebration of Palestinian indigenous culture. In the late summer and early fall, families will come together to harvest the olives of their land, spending entire days together collecting, processing, and finally pressing their olives. Olives not only represent sustenance, but they also represent the lasting connection Palestinians have to their land, despite constant attempts of uprooting and erasure (literally and figuratively) by Israeli settler colonialism.
