Growing Palestine observed Land Day 2026 with an event that brought the community together to remember and to celebrate the agrarian heritage that remains our cherished patrimony. The event, held on March 28 at Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC, opened with the moving video of Nai Barghouti singing “Anthem of the Land,” more fitting than ever on this 50th anniversary of the first Land Day when the very Palestinian presence on the land of Palestine is under threat. The evening included a short video in which one of the farmers we are in touch with interviewed his 90-something-year-old mother, known in her community as a master grafter. (She made it sound like the simplest task imaginable rather than the creation of something new.) Here we present some event highlights.

Zeina Azzam spoke about the origin of Land Day, the 1976 killing of six Palestinian citizens of Israel, with dozens more injured, who protested the Israeli confiscation of lands in the Galilee, spurring a national strike in Palestine. She spoke about the attachment of Palestinians to the land of Palestine, beautifully expressed in the poem “On This Land,” by Palestine’s national poet Mahmoud Darwish, which she read in English and Arabic.

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about za’tar and then some. Buthaina Abu-Bader explained how to make a delicious za’tar mix using dried leaves, toasted sesame seeds, olive oil, sumac, and salt. (Because the recipe is her grandmother’s, no measurements were conveyed.) Nora Burgan spoke about the history of the herb in Palestinian culture, foraged in the hills, and Nadine Sahyoun summarized the many nutritional benefits it offers. And then the audience was treated to manaeesh.

Strumming her guitar, Anjum Masri sang the haunting folkloric song “Yamma mweil el-hawa,” which affirms resistance to unjust rule, with the Faris El-Layl Dabke troupe in the background. And then Faris El-Layl danced to several songs before finishing up with a dabke between the tables, to which they invited the audience to join. At least half the attendees joined in.

Growing Palestine long-time supporter Nagham Abu-Bader conducted a lively auction of a 4+ gallon tin of olive oil that we received directly from the farmers in Palestine. We hope the generous bidder enjoys many scrumptious meals with it!

Ida Audeh described Growing Palestine’s campaign “Food Is Life: Protect Palestinians Farmers from Israeli Violence,” made urgent by the existential threat to the Palestinian presence in the West Bank as a result of unchecked Israeli military and settler attacks. She listed actions that the audience can take to support the goal of publicizing the violence by Israeli settlers and soldiers against Palestinian farms with the aim of stopping it. (A list of actions is available here.) She reminded the audience of the need for volunteers to help the farmers and witness their conditions, and she pointed them to a table at which they could sample farm products and get a GP T-shirt (shown here by former GP board member and longtime supporter Nadia McGeough), designed by a young visual designer in Gaza.

Growing Palestine thanks Andy Shallal for hosting our event at Busboys and Poets, the first choice of DC area activists, and his wonderful staff; Jamal Najjab for photographing the event; Noura and Laila Langhorne for graciously serving manaeesh and distributing yakteen seeds to the audience; and volunteers Jeanine and Yasmine Barakat who helped with stage setup and Camelia Harb who helped collect donations for GP farmer products.