November 16, 2010
Ever wonder how olives are turned into olive oil soap, or olive oil for that matter? Â Watch this video for a quick tour of an olive oil press and an olive oil soap factory in a small town in northern West Bank. If you live in Chicago, visit the Fair Trade Bazaar at Lake View […]
November 15, 2010
I traveled to Zababdeh, a town in northern West Bank near Jenin, to tour the local olive oil business on the anniversary of Arafat’s death. As I traveled from Bethlehem to Zababdeh, I passed a long line of buses with Palestinian flags fluttering out the windows, all headed to a commemoration in Ramallah.  After three […]
October 3, 2010
I spent many Sundays in Zababdeh since July 2010, celebrating with Fr. Firas and his congregation at St. George Melkite Church. Â Though the services were in Arabic, a few things were still familiar: the rhythm of prayers, the passing of peace and the children staying occupied by giggling and playing games in the back of […]
September 17, 2010
To help local women earn money to supplement their family’s income, Fr. Firas and his sister, Dema, started a sewing project in Zababdeh. Dema manages a staff of six women, both Muslims and Christians, who sew clothes for an Israeli company. Â Fr. Firas considers it a sweatshop because of the unfair wages the women are […]
September 2, 2010
“You drive the car. I know you miss driving,†said Fr. Firas while driving me home from a visit to the Jenin refugee camp, a few miles from his church in Zababdeh, West Bank. “But I don’t know how to drive stick!â€Â I cried, knowing that in a few minutes I would be behind the […]
August 29, 2010
Abuna (Father) Firas is determined to make a difference for his congregation and his town, Zababdeh, close to Jenin in the West Bank. Through out my time in Palestine, I look forward to Sunday visits to Zababdeh for church and some time with Abuna Firas and his family. In the video below, Abuna Firas describes […]
