A Gift and Sweets Sale, featuring local vendors, will take place this weekend as Madison-based organizations continue to raise aid for Palestine in an event that coincides with the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People and Small Business Saturday.
Organizations and businesses like Palestine Partners, Madison-Rafah Sister City Project, Teta’s Treasures and Room of One’s Own Bookstore will host Gift and Sweets Sale for Palestine Aid on Saturday, Nov. 29, noon-4 p.m. The drive looks to raise funds to be donated to Middle East Children’s Alliance, an aid organization that Palestine Partners and Madison-Rafah Sister City Project frequently find to be the best option for direct, tangible support for aid. It will also raise funds to assist families of Masafer Yatta — a key area the two Madison organizations sponsor for the regrowth of olive trees destroyed by Israel — and Al Mughair.
“The village of Al Mughair there, the entire village is slated for demolition,” said Cassandra Dixon, organizer with Palestine Partners. “The aftermath of it is just hugely expensive for people. Everything is destroyed, blankets, cooking pots and tents. Everything.”
Temperatures are dropping in Palestine. As many buildings have been destroyed, shelter is limited and the cold is a growing concern in relief efforts.
“It’s cold and it’s flooding. People have no way to protect themselves or their belongings, their children or anything from the freezing cold,” Dixon said.
Attention in the drive also aims to shed light on the destruction of olive trees in Palestine. Olive trees are both an agricultural and financial staple supporting the well-being of many Palestinian families.
To date, an estimated 1.1 million olive trees have been destroyed, Drop Site reported in an interview with the head of the Palestinian Olive Council.
Palestine Partners and Madison-Rafah Sister City Project are partnering with Dutch-based Plant een Olifboom to help regrow destroyed trees in Masafer Yatta. The organization, which translates to “Plant an Olive Tree,” works to plant and protect olive trees in Palestine for the Palestinian people.
There is an olive grove with a relationship to Madison, with the Madison-Masafer Yatta Olive Grove. Donors can sponsor trees being planted.
Goods at the drive will consist of Palestinian-made items, including jewelry, embroidered shawls, kufiyahs, and bags made from the Women in Hebron Craft Cooperative, as well as olive products, children’s books about Palestine and solidarity yard signs.
The gift and sweet sale will be held Saturday, Nov. 29, noon-4 p.m. at Room of One’s Own, 27013 Atwood Ave.
