The Palestinian Herb That Became An Israeli Crime

In this episode, host Diana Buttu speaks with human rights attorney Rabea Eghbariah, on how foraging wild herbs, like za’atar, within Israel became a punishable offense targeted at Palestinians. After the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948, Palestinians have been forcibly removed and separated from their land, a primary food source for most. Foraging native herbs like, za’atar, akkoub (gundelia) and marimiyeh (sage), is criminalized by Israeli political authorities. Rabea and Diana discuss, from a legal perspective, the rationale behind this criminalization is an attempt to further alienate Palestinians from their land.