clovenhooves Women of the World Unite! Middle East & Arab Region Too Israeli for the world, too Arab for Israelis, women’s olive oil collective presses on

Too Israeli for the world, too Arab for Israelis, women’s olive oil collective presses on

Too Israeli for the world, too Arab for Israelis, women’s olive oil collective presses on

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Elsacat
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737
Jan 26 2026, 9:26 AM
#1
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Not posting this to start any political fights, and certainly not a sponsored post. But because I thought it was a nice story about Sindyanna, an olive oil (and other foods) brand I didn't even know existed until today, the women who make it possible, and the women who are helped by it. They've been making products for 20 years, holding workshops, and trying to build relationships and goodwill amidst all the troubles in the region.

Make olive oil and other goodies, not war!

For anyone who, like me, is interested in trying their products, here's where to buy.
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Elsacat
Jan 26 2026, 9:26 AM #1

Article

Archive (scroll down to get to the content)

Not posting this to start any political fights, and certainly not a sponsored post. But because I thought it was a nice story about Sindyanna, an olive oil (and other foods) brand I didn't even know existed until today, the women who make it possible, and the women who are helped by it. They've been making products for 20 years, holding workshops, and trying to build relationships and goodwill amidst all the troubles in the region.

Make olive oil and other goodies, not war!

For anyone who, like me, is interested in trying their products, here's where to buy.

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noray
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16
Jan 26 2026, 12:33 PM
#2
It's a nice thought, however I feel it's a bit too utopian in terms of the colonizer/settler dynamics, there will never be peace as long as that exists. I usually feel sceptical about these kinds of orgs as they often function as soft zionism.
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noray
Jan 26 2026, 12:33 PM #2

It's a nice thought, however I feel it's a bit too utopian in terms of the colonizer/settler dynamics, there will never be peace as long as that exists. I usually feel sceptical about these kinds of orgs as they often function as soft zionism.

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Iota Aurigae
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49
Jan 26 2026, 9:49 PM
#3
Yeah, I've got to agree with Noray. I wanted to go into this with an open mind, but I also recognize that it's important to be critical of the information we read. What stuck out to me straight away, literally in the first sentence, the author can't bring herself to say the word "Palestinian" and instead just refers to them as "Arab Israelis" or "Arabs" (which Palestinians aren't). It's kind of like referring to people indigenous to North America as "Indians", but applied to just one ethnic group instead of hundreds. It's pretty clear erasure; the only time the word "Palestine" is mentioned in the article is in reference to a tree. (It could be an editorial decision to not refer to Palestinians as... well, Palestinians, but that would still say something about the people running the paper.)

The article also mentions something about maintaining World Fair Trade certification through "two-plus years of war". Gaza is like 90 miles away from Galilee. The two regions are on opposite sides of the country. I also find the bit about cookouts with celebrity chefs baffling. Why is that one of their priorities for Palestinian women?

I get you were trying to post a feel-good article, but as said above, I feel like it essentially functions as soft propaganda. There are very real issues with it that I can't overlook.
Edited Jan 26 2026, 9:49 PM by Iota Aurigae.
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Iota Aurigae
Jan 26 2026, 9:49 PM #3

Yeah, I've got to agree with Noray. I wanted to go into this with an open mind, but I also recognize that it's important to be critical of the information we read. What stuck out to me straight away, literally in the first sentence, the author can't bring herself to say the word "Palestinian" and instead just refers to them as "Arab Israelis" or "Arabs" (which Palestinians aren't). It's kind of like referring to people indigenous to North America as "Indians", but applied to just one ethnic group instead of hundreds. It's pretty clear erasure; the only time the word "Palestine" is mentioned in the article is in reference to a tree. (It could be an editorial decision to not refer to Palestinians as... well, Palestinians, but that would still say something about the people running the paper.)

The article also mentions something about maintaining World Fair Trade certification through "two-plus years of war". Gaza is like 90 miles away from Galilee. The two regions are on opposite sides of the country. I also find the bit about cookouts with celebrity chefs baffling. Why is that one of their priorities for Palestinian women?

I get you were trying to post a feel-good article, but as said above, I feel like it essentially functions as soft propaganda. There are very real issues with it that I can't overlook.

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Chernobog
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55
Jan 27 2026, 11:18 AM
#4
Yes, as a part of the anti-Zionist bloc I am obliged to chime in that everything in the framing of this article, including and especially the headline, is giving Yuck!.
Earnest engagement with the local culture in places where you are a guest is good. Using your connections elsewhere in the world to broaden the reach of local culture is also good. Pretending in this day and age that Israelis are just random immigrants that showed up for some irrelevant, innocuous reason, the obliviousness (feigned or earnest) of the interviewees and the obfuscations that this conflict is just about inconvenient interpersonal prejudice should not fly as anything other than the propaganda that it is. 

Others have pointed out the ways in which, at least from the article, it does not seem like this is just guests in a foreign land wanting to participate in earnest cultural exchange with and expand the global reach of their hosts. My mom called shakshuka "Israeli soup" for years because that's what the article she got the recipe from called it and it never fails to get me chuffed how often journalists get away with this stuff. Taking a little responsibility goes a long way if you're going to run one of these dubious saviour organizations rather than crying about how the world just hates you, for no reason, or a bad reason, of course.
Edited Jan 27 2026, 11:20 AM by Chernobog.
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Chernobog
Jan 27 2026, 11:18 AM #4

Yes, as a part of the anti-Zionist bloc I am obliged to chime in that everything in the framing of this article, including and especially the headline, is giving Yuck!.
Earnest engagement with the local culture in places where you are a guest is good. Using your connections elsewhere in the world to broaden the reach of local culture is also good. Pretending in this day and age that Israelis are just random immigrants that showed up for some irrelevant, innocuous reason, the obliviousness (feigned or earnest) of the interviewees and the obfuscations that this conflict is just about inconvenient interpersonal prejudice should not fly as anything other than the propaganda that it is. 

Others have pointed out the ways in which, at least from the article, it does not seem like this is just guests in a foreign land wanting to participate in earnest cultural exchange with and expand the global reach of their hosts. My mom called shakshuka "Israeli soup" for years because that's what the article she got the recipe from called it and it never fails to get me chuffed how often journalists get away with this stuff. Taking a little responsibility goes a long way if you're going to run one of these dubious saviour organizations rather than crying about how the world just hates you, for no reason, or a bad reason, of course.

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Elsacat
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737
Jan 27 2026, 7:33 PM
#5
Yeah, this was supposed to be heartwarming and kumbaya and yay! olive oil! and all that. I wanted to believe. Sometimes I'm more Mulder than Scully.
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Elsacat
Jan 27 2026, 7:33 PM #5

Yeah, this was supposed to be heartwarming and kumbaya and yay! olive oil! and all that. I wanted to believe. Sometimes I'm more Mulder than Scully.

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