PLANTS ARE POLITICAL on the Flavor of Za'atar S1:2

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Dec 18, 2025

Join Aya Gazawi Faour, co-founder of Olive Odyssey and steward of Palestinian foodways, as she delves into the rich cultural significance of za'atar in Palestinian life. She explores the political implications of the 1970 foraging ban, revealing how it has affected the natural growth and cultural practices surrounding this treasured herb. Aya also highlights the ecological challenges and personal stories tied to harvesting, emphasizing the resilience of Palestinian communities despite ongoing occupation. Discover the profound connections between food, land, and heritage.

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INSIGHT

Za'atar As Cultural And Culinary Core

Za'atar is central to Palestinian kitchens, identity, and traditional medicine.
Criminalizing its foraging severs cultural, dietary, and ancestral connections that sustain land stewardship.

ANECDOTE

The 1970 Ban And Selective Enforcement

Israel added za'atar to a protected-plant list in 1970 without scientific tests and then enforced bans selectively against Palestinians.
Palestinians continued to forage despite arrests, fines, and the law's weaponization against their practices.

INSIGHT

Commercializing What Was Forbidden

After the ban, Israeli producers began cultivating and selling za'atar while Palestinians were prevented from gathering it.
This dynamic extracts cultural resources and undermines local food sovereignty by making people dependent on commercial supply.

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“If you don't forage for Za’atar, how are you going to feel connected to the land? How are you going to understand what your ancestors have been doing for thousands of years here?” - Aya Gazawi Faour

In For The Wild’s series in collaboration with Olive Odyssey, we hear from Aya Gazawi Faour, their co-founder, who shares about plants indigenous to the Palestinian landscape and their deep ties to culture, resistance, and enduring lifeways.

In this episode, Aya shares about the herb Za’atar and its role in Palestinian kitchens. Aya details the ban placed on foraging Za’atar by Israel and its selective enforcement against Palestinians. Despite encroachments on their land and these restrictive practices, Aya emphasizes connection to the land down to the very flavor of Palestinian food and the scent of Palestinian kitchens. Colonizing forces try to separate people and the land, but as Aya speaks, it is clear that this separation is neither sustainable nor wholly possible.

Let this conversation be an invitation to look more closely at the lands and living beings of Palestine. If Aya’s stories moved you, take the next step: learn from the farmers and stewards keeping these lifeways alive. Explore the work of Palestinian growers, deepen your understanding of their traditions, and support their harvests through Olive Odyssey. Every gesture of connection helps nourish a culture, a landscape, and a people rooted in resilience.

Olive Odyssey brings together farmers from across Palestine with a shared purpose: to tell the story of the Palestinian people through olive oil. Their mission is simple yet powerful — each bottle reflects a deep connection to the land and a commitment to sustainable, community-centered practices. To learn more about the farmers, their methods, and to source olive oil, za’atar, recipes, and more, visit https://oliveodyssey.com.

Plants Are Political is based on Olive Odyssey’s series by the same name.

Credits
Music for this episode is “Rosa” and “Anima” composed by Doe Paoro from her album “Living Through Collapse.” For The Wild is created by Ayana Young, Erica, Ekrem, Julia Jackson, and Victoria Pham.

Learn more at https://www.forthewild.world

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