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Founded by the Rev. Elizabeth Knott, 1993
Pal Craftaid
is a proud member
of the Fair Trade Federation
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Palestinian Shawl with Traditional Embroidery
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Greetings!
This issue of the Pal Craftaid newsletter features shawls and other needlework produced by the Palestinian artisans whose products we sell. I think the shawls are some of our loveliest items. I was so impressed with the women who live in remote villages in the hills who do the needlework to support their families. On my last trip there, we visited a widow who taught her daughters-in-law the art of counted cross stitch.She would walk for hours to deliver the finished items to the Melia shop. I purchased a cape that she worked on and I will always treasure it. Peace, Sheron Antczak Board of Directors Pal Craftaid
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Traditional Craft Supports Families
by Alexa Smith
Maro Zakarian says that embroidery is no longer a hobby for the Palestinian women who deliver it to the Melia Shop in Jerusalem's Old City, near the New Gate.
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Cross Stitch
Captures Wildflowers
from Hebron
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Because of soaring unemployment in the Occupied Territories, cross-stitch is how the lights stay on and the bills get paid.
"Our main goal here is to support the women," Zakarian says during a telephone interview, as she simultaneously makes change for tourist who has settled on an eyeglass case after browsing in the the shop. "Nowadays, women are the breadwinners, and are more likely than a man to get a permit to cross the checkpoints.
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ATTA Serves Forgotten Elderly in Ramallah and Jerusalem's Old City
by Alexa Smith
Siham Shawamreh makes about four visits a month to roughly 60 elderly people in the Ramallah area, which is Palestinian-controlled territory outside Jerusalem.
She is a community worker, what she calls a "social nurse," checking the contents of refrigerators and cupboards to see what food is there - and bringing foodstuffs if needed. Sometimes, she'll bring a doctor or a nurse with her because her clients cannot pay for medical care at local hospitals. She spends much of her time listening, since most of those she visits suffer loneliness.
Approximately 50 percent of the elderly she serves are alone; their children have long since left the West Bank and do not have papers to return or land to farm through dispossession. The other half may have family nearby, but they are too poor to offer concrete help because of the economic crisis tied to the Israeli occupation.
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Travelers Share Impressions of Palestine
Earlier this year, 12 representatives of Pal Craftaid visited East Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Galilee. Among their destinations were the artisan cooperatives from whom Pal Craftaid buys the crafts it sells as well as the schools and humanitarian organizations it supports. Here are two more stories from the Pal Craftaid visitors.
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Coin Purses from the Arab Women's Union
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Society Supports Local Women On our last day in Bethlehem during our March trip to Palestine, we visited the Arab Women's Union. This charitable, social and cultural society was founded in 1947 to support needy Palestinian women by providing them jobs after the first Arab-Israeli war. It is located across the square from the Church of the Nativity on Star Street, the street that the Patriarch still uses to enter Bethlehem on special religious occasions. By Corita Swanson. Continue reading Society Supports Local Women  | |
Jean Zaru
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Jean Zaru, Sabeel Founder, Continues to Work for Peace in the West Bank One organization that works tirelessly for "Justice, Peace and Reconciliation in Palestine-Israel" is the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center. Most often identified simply as Sabeel, this Palestinian Christian organization is committed to living the Gospel in a very conflicted part of the world. (See more at their website www.sabeel.org.) Jean Zaru, a lifelong Quaker, is one of the founders of Sabeel. Zaru has written several books and has worked internationally for women's rights, as well as for peace and justice, especially for Palestinians. By Toni Mann. Continue reading Jean Zaru, Sabeel Founder Did you miss our travelers' stories from the last issue? Click to read: A Visit to the Melia Shop, Old Jerusalem Women's Cooperative Plans Tourist Cafe, Shop and Museum Conflict Resolution Center Brings Reconciliation to Palestinians |
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