HOLY LAND: TAYBEH, PALESTINIAN "OKTOBERFEST" TO GIVE WORK TO CHRISTIANS

Sabato 08 Ottobre 2011

The 7th Palestinian Oktoberfest, sponsored by the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of the Palestinian Authority, took place in the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh last weekend. Taybeh, located 35 kilometres northeast of Jerusalem, and its 1,300 inhabitants, gave to the thousands of visitors who arrived from the West Bank a taste of their traditional local beer - 100,000 litres in two days - exported all around the world together with other local products such as honey, oil, candles, embroidery works, lamps and soap. “The challenge for Christians in that region is to find a job to provide for their families, otherwise they are forced to emigrate”, stated Fr. Raed Abushalia, Latin parish priest of Taybeh, who is among the promoters of the initiative. “This is why we have developed many initiatives over the past years, including the production and sale of oil, cosmetics, honey. We have an atelier where we produce our ceramic ‘peace lamps’ which are then sold all around the world”. These activities, besides giving a salary to 36 families, also contribute to the cost of the rest home opened by the parish six years ago. In the past six years, Taybeh has sold 500 tonnes of olive oil. 12,000 meals are served at the rest home every year and 80,000 churches all around the world have bought our peace lamps. Last but not least, a Christian radio will soon broadcast throughout the entire country.