A Telling Omission From Gaza Beekeepers’ Story

Mondoweiss has a piece about a family of Gaza beekeepers. And naturally, because it is Mondoscheisse, it is anti-Israel.

A story not of statistics and numbers and economics, this is a story about the generational transfer of skill. It’s about a small farming family that attempts to subsist off of a land only 1,000 feet from a highly-militarized racist separation wall

The Al-Kafarne family has always been farmers. In 2000 this specific farm was purchased; in it they grow vegetables and a few assortment of citrus trees in order to make ends meet. Once harvested and packaged, the honey is sold both locally in Beit Hanoun, and in Gaza City, for 80 shekels per jar. The Al-Kafarne family make whatever income they can from their little farm despite the lack of funding and the reality of the siege

Such a traditional family dynamic manages to survive ever so closely to the disturbing reality, simply pinned between occupier and the occupied, reinforced in every gaze they take whenever they look over in the distance, capturing a glimpse of the border that confronts them with every turn of the pupil noticing the sight of the Erez crossing, and the racist separation wall surrounding them, constantly reminding them of their limited freedom.

So the people may not be free to go as they please, but the bees are as free as the birds of the sky. Together they continue to live and together they continue to thrive, against the odds, as always is the case here, in Gaza. 

But it is actually what is not mentioned, which is more telling.

Just a few weeks ago, I posted about allegations from some that we were responsible for a major decline in bee populations in Gaza, leading to a dramatic reduction in honey production.

You would think if this was truly the case, then this humble farmer and his family would be feeling it too. And surely they would mention it to the anti-Israel Mondoscheisse.

But there is not even a hint of this in the story. Which is a further indication of the initial allegations being bogus to begin with.

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