Hanukkah olive oil holiday in the shadow of the war

The annual event of the “Days of the Olive Branch”, which takes place every year all over the Galilee, comes to Tel Aviv due to the constraints of the war. The festival will take place on Wednesday and Thursday 6-7.12 between 11-16 at Park Atidim Tel Aviv.

The olive branch was severely damaged due to the fighting, some of the orchards were declared a closed military area and all the rest there is a severe shortage of manpower. The Galilee Development Authority, the Ministry of the Galilee Negev and National Resilience, the olive branch of the Plant Council, together with Park Atidim Tel Aviv, are mobilizing to help the producers and farmers of the Galilee olive oil, alongside the regular aid to the farmers and producers of the Galilee, and will symbolically hold a support fair to mark Hanukkah, the Israeli olive oil festival, in order to help producers the industry.

On the days of the Hanukkah holiday, the olive branch marks the end of the harvest and welcomes the “first harvest” in celebrations and events. The war stopped all of these, cutting off the olive branch farmers from their homes, from their mosques and from the crowd of visitors who visit the canvas houses and visitor centers, to taste fresh olive oil for the glory of the country’s produce. Therefore, the olive branch days festival, which had already become a tradition, was canceled and the entire industry is in crisis. Some of the plantations have been declared a closed military area and in the rest there is a severe shortage of personnel, even now about 85% of the required number of workers is missing.

In normal years, this season is characterized by many visitors who are used to coming to the farms and being impressed by the growing of the olives, the harvest, the production of olive oil and olive pressing. But this year the producers and farmers are finding it difficult to produce the full amount of olive oil and there is difficulty in selling what they have managed to produce so far.

On Wednesday and Thursday, 6-7.12, between 11-16, dozens of olive oil producers will come to Tel Aviv’s Atidim Park and sell their finest Galilean produce alongside many other farmers from around the Galilee and the Golan who will provide cheese products, wines, Galilean and Druze cuisine, cosmetics, art, and products for the Hanukkah holiday. The event will open with a meeting for ambassadors led by the president of the Ambassadors’ Club in Israel, Yitzhak Eldan. Alden will host many ambassadors, who wish to express solidarity with the State of Israel and as part of this a salute to the Israeli olive branch.

As part of the fair, there will be olive oil tasting workshops, which will be conducted by the heads of the northern panel of tasters of the olive branch. As part of the workshop, the participants will learn to distinguish between high-quality and defective olive oil, the differences between the different varieties, differences in the mouth and nose, (participation in the workshop is free of charge and with advance registration).

Also, Chef Yossi Elad, one of the founders of the restaurant ‘Mechanioda’ Jerusalem and owners of desirable restaurants throughout Europe, will hold chef workshops on the purity of olive oil. Participation is free of charge and by pre-registration.

Dr. Adi Neli, director of the olive branch at the Plant Council: “The olive branch developed in our region in ancient times, from the olive oil celebrations in the Temple to the current Hanukkah, the olive oil holiday. The branch that represents the transition from antiquity to progress has developed greatly in Israel but faces severe challenges. The branch has suffered blows difficult as a result of the reduction of support for local agriculture and the encouragement of imports, a policy that we hope will change soon. The war broke out exactly during the harvest season, the peak of work in the olive groves. Crowds of volunteers mobilized to help as much as possible to all the producers, and we are grateful for the mobilization of the Galilee Development Authority and Park Atidim Tel Aviv, who allow all the growers to sell The produce they have managed to produce so far despite the crisis and the constraints of the war.’

Eyal Green, CEO of Atidim Park Tel Aviv: “This week the people of Israel will celebrate the Hanukkah holiday, so there is nothing more appropriate and symbolic than dedicating these days to help the community of olive branch growers who are in the midst of the harvest season. This is already the fourth week, that we are holding aid fairs in the park for Galilean producers and farmers, which have been very successful. During Hanukkah, we will allow the general public to come and experience the growing of olive oil, learn about the oil production process and the differences between the different varieties, as well as buy from the Galilee produce.’

Robbie Luzon, CEO of the Galilee Development Authority: “The Galilee, the home of the old and new olive trees, has been celebrating the harvest at the Olive Festival for many years. This year, we applaud the growers and producers of the olive oil from the Galilee, from where the first oil came to light the menorah in the temple, in Park Atidim in Tel Aviv. I invite you all to come, in preparation for Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, to the fair, to purchase Galilee olive oil and other products that symbolize the Hanukkah holiday, to learn how to taste high-quality olive oil and to praise our farmers from the north.”