The Accidental Pilgrims
Picking Olives in Palestine

Anne Meneley, an anthropologist, shares her experience of international volunteer olive pickers in Palestine who for a few weeks in October or November become pilgrims of a sort.  They differentiate themselves quite sharply from the pious pilgrims who orient themselves to suffering in the distant past rather than suffering in the present caused by the Israeli occupation.

The talk describes how through the embodied act of picking olives with Palestinian farmers whose land is under threat, allows these internationals to come to know, at least in part, the enormous cultural value of olive trees which go beyond food. Yet the economic dimension remains critically important to the long term survival of ordinary Palestinians. While the volunteers also visit holy places like Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Hebron, their pedagogy about these places differs quite a bit from that of the religious pilgrims.

Anne Meneley is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology, as well as a five-year veteran of olive picking in the West Bank. Her work focuses on the changing conditions of the production of olive oil in the West Bank as producers try to find markets for their olive oil abroad. She has published articles on Palestinian olive oil, and continues to publish on her previous research in Yemen, as well as on olive oil as a "good" fat, and the Mediterranean Diet.

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Need to know:
- Doors open at 6:50
- $5 minimum admission
- Accessible on demand via portable ramp; washrooms not accessible
- Please avoid using strong-scented products due to sensitivities

Tasty refreshments (non-alcoholic) and Zatoun oliveoil+za'atar dipping.