Applications to join the Olive Harvest with CJNV are currently closed.
You can stay updated on our current and upcoming programs by signing up for our newsletter and following us on Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook.
About the Project
The olive harvest is a significant time of the year in Palestinian society, as it is vital to Palestinian agricultural economy and cultural heritage. Tens of thousands of Palestinian families depend on the olive harvest as their primary source of income. During the harvest season, participants will accompany Palestinians farmers and families on their lands to help in the harvest, act as a solidarity presence, and document when necessary.
Participants will also communicate their experiences to international audiences. They will work with Palestinian activists and communities to highlight their stories and experiences living and resisting under apartheid, serving to further amplify partners’ voices. Over the course of the project, participants will build relationships that will expand and strengthen CJNV’s working network of solidarity and coresistance.
CJNV will provide participants with group lodging, food, logistical support, training, and some facilitation. Participants will be staying in a collective-house environment.
We are looking for people who can commit to joining us on the ground for three weeks from October 17 – November 6. The olive harvest season is usually a couple of weeks longer than this, from mid-October until mid-November. People may be able to stay longer on their own (outside the official CJNV dates) if they would like.
Background and Context
The olive harvest is a powerful moment of sumud (steadfastness), in which Palestinian farmers and families tend their olive trees and work their land as they have for generations. It is a material and symbolic act of resistance to land theft and expulsion and an affirmation of Palestinian livelihood and culture. For this reason, it is also a time of increased settler-state violence, where settlers and army violently try to keep Palestinians from reaching their ancestral lands and harvesting their olives. As Jews, it is a meaningful act of solidarity and co-resistance to show up with our partners in this moment – to materially support by harvesting olives and documenting human rights violations, as well as to stand in solidarity with our partners against land theft, settler-state violence, and systems of oppression and segregation that allow one community to flourish at the expense of the other.
The Palestinian families in these villages are enduring violent raids, the destruction of their vehicles and farming equipment, invasion of their homes, prevention from accessing their lands, and threats of murder if they do not abandon their communities. We know from experience that the presence of solidarity activists mitigates settler and military violence against local activists and community residents in Area C of the occupied West Bank. CJNV has forged dynamic, sustained, and trusting relationships in solidarity with communities throughout the region across more than eight years of co-resistance against state violence and dispossession.
Purpose and Desired Impacts
This project will offer solidarity while expanding the capacity for joint civil disobedience and sustained action in the region. We will leverage our Jewish privilege to mitigate violence against residents of the region and provide frontline support to Palestinian communities at this crucial time. We will amplify the voices and stories of our Palestinian partners while meaningfully contributing to nonviolent popular struggle and resilience in the region.
This project aims to model a Jewish ethical vision anchored in values of solidarity, justice, and equality. During a time central to Palestinian livelihood and culture, when Israeli state-settler violence functions in full force to suppress and harass communities, we choose to stand in solidarity with them, struggle against these violent realities, and actively demonstrate a Jewish commitment to joint resistance and collective freedom.
Dates
Program Dates: October 17 – November 6, 2025
Application Deadline: June 30th, 2025
You can expect to hear back from us the week of July 14th, once we’ve been able to review all the applications.
Program Cost
Base Rate: $1,600 – Paying this amount covers a significant portion of the ground costs for the Olive Harvest
Solidarity Rate One: $1,800 – Paying this amount covers ground costs, in addition to supporting the participation of those who cannot pay the base rate
Solidarity Rate Two: $2,200 – Paying this amount covers ground costs, in addition to further supporting the participation of those who cannot pay the base rate
Subsidized Rate: $1,400 – This amount covers a portion of the ground costs for participation in the Olive Harvest
The fee covers a portion of accommodations, transportation, food, project materials, training and facilitation, among other costs. The fee DOES NOT include airfare. Participating activists are responsible for making their own international travel arrangements to and from the region.
If the program cost is prohibitive for you, please be in touch. We will make every effort to work with you to break down financial barriers.
Accessibility
We are committed to creating an environment that is comfortable, safe and supportive for all participating activists, but individuals must decide for themselves if this kind of activity is within their capability. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Time doing solidarity work in the West Bank can be draining and intense! Some days or nights will involve time outside in the heat or cold, variable weather is to be expected, and activities will include physical labor (primarily harvesting olives which involves standing underneath a tree and picking olives).
- Participating activists will likely be climbing staircases without railings as well as walking on dirt roads and over rocky landscapes.
- Sleeping and housing conditions will be comfortable, but it is important to note that we may be staying in rural communities with limited electricity and water access, and comfort and amenity standards may be different than what you are used to.
- No one will be asked to overexert themselves, and participating activists will be encouraged to set a work pace that is comfortable for them.
Additionally, we recognize that each of us brings different relationships to our health. We’ll do our best to support everyone. While we warmly support folks to wear masks if you choose, mask wearing in Israel/Palestine is very uncommon right now and it’s likely that people will not be masked in most places where we’ll be.
If you have more questions about accessibility during CJNV’s on-the-ground programming, please reach out to a member of CJNV’s on-the-ground staff: Oriel (oriel@cjnv.org) or Dina (dina@cjnv.org).
Applications are due June 30th!