Our solidarity community is growing and has made much positive progress over the years like the rise of the BDS campaign, an increase in campus activism and the increased visibility of Palestinian voices in the media. But as Sam Bahour highlighted in my interview with him, we can’t can’t overlook the Palestinian economy which has been strangled and blockaded just like Palestinian lives and property. With that in mind I’ve partnered with the Northern California chapter of the International Solidarity Movement (NorCal ISM) to bring you Palbox!
Palbox is a totally new way to support Palestinian farmers, artisans, craftspeople and Palestinian nonviolent resistance that completely bypasses all Israeli control. Palbox is a gourmet gift box delivered four times a year to your doorstep and includes:
• a 750 ml bottle of Palestinian olive oil
• 2 bars of olive oil soap
• a bag of za’atar
• a different, hand-curated Palestinian cultural product (the first box will contain a downloadable album of music from Haidar Eid)
• a sterling silver piece of Arabic calligraphy jewelry.
The first Palbox ships December 1, just in time for the holidays. You must order during October to receive the December 1st shipment.
Watch our 2 minute promo video below:
The challenge we had in creating Palbox was how to support Gaza since it’s impossible to import goods due to the blockade. I decided the best way to overcome this challenge was to bring you downloadables from Gaza like music.
Here is my 10 minute “interview” with Haidar Eid about his new album titled Gaza Blues: Hymns of Love, Death and Resistance which comes with the first Palbox. The reason “interview” is in quotes is that due to the inconsistent supply of electricity in Gaza, we could not meet on Skype to do the interview as I have done in the past with others so I emailed him the questions and he recorded the answers:
Gaza Blues interview from One Democratic State Group on Vimeo.
Palbox is most of all an act of solidarity with Palestinians. All proceeds from the sale of Palbox products will go to the Northern California chapter of the International Solidarity Movement, which supports Palestinian nonviolent resistance against Israeli occupation, confiscation of Palestinian land and violations of Palestinian human rights. We cannot singlehandedly stop bombs from reigning down on Gaza but we can vote with out pocketbooks and boycott Israeli goods and buy Palestinian. (Price is $95 per box if you prepay for a year’s subscription (4 boxes) or it’s $119 per box if you pay quarterly.)
Wouldn’t it be great if you and everyone you knew ONLY used Palestinian olive oil ? Think about what that would mean for Palestinian farmers…
Subscribe to Palbox today and please share widely!
Time to put in a yearly order.
May I ask, exactly how much money actually makes it back to directly support Palestinian Labor?
No thanks, I’d rather root for the Mets.
Kate this is great. Will definitely be ordering. Would like to know how to just order the Palestinian olive oil year round. Or how to buy a large supply. What percentage of these funds will actually make it to the Palestinian suppliers?
I’m interested in learning more about what goes on behind the scenes, what is the mechanism, how much makes it back to the farmers, what is the middle man’s cut, what kind of charity does this include etc.
Forgive me if this seems cynical, but I have been burnt too many times, and there are a lot of groups out there trying to make a buck off tragedies.
However, if all of this checks out and it is legit, that’s a wonderful idea. I hope they manage to pull it off.
only available to US, UK and Canada?