Jaffa oranges.

I went for a walk with one of my daughters on Saturday. It was a beautiful day so we decided to “check out” some orange groves between where we live and Ashdod.
It was sad to see trees with lots of fruits just laying on the ground rotting.
It is easy to tell the difference between a neglected orchard and one that is “still in business”. Besides, the latter ones have signs informing people that picking is prohibited.
The trees that are not in production anymore have smaller fruits, there are weeds growing everywhere and nobody does pruning on them. That, however, does not mean that they are less tasty.
There are no proper roads leading to the orchards so people have to walk and to carry home the fruits. Therefore it is limited how much people actually pick.
We brought home some clementines and some red and yellow grape fruits.

I remember when I first arrived in the country in 1976 that there were orange and other citrus groves absolutely everywhere. Israel was famous for the smell of blooming oranges and the orchards kept thousands of people busy. Everyone knew that “Jaffa” was just another name for Israel…
Honey producers put up their bee hives close to the orange trees in order to get a special citrus brand of honey.
The oranges does not belong to this country naturally, but was introduced to the land by some Christian newcomers who were living on an agricultural farm a few kilometers north of Jaffa. The first orange trees were imported to this land from Portugal and it was Vasco da Gama who some centuries earlier had brought a root of an orange tree to there from China. Actually, all the orange trees in Israel, Portugal, Spain and France descended from this single root. Hard to believe, but that is what the experts say.
The Arabs started growing oranges and the Jewish newcomers added agricultural knowledge and turned it into a flourishing business. For many decades oranges were Israel’s top export and became a trademark to the country.
It is not like that anymore. Spain, Morocco and other countries have taken over the marked for oranges. What is still produced in Israel is mainly for the local customers.

A friend of mine started a charity work from such neglected orange trees. It was hard for her to see all the fruit that would just drop to the ground and rot, so one day she asked her sons to help her pick and to carry them home for her. Once in the house she started producing English style marmalade. As she cannot eat it all herself she offered people to buy from her and decided to give the money to an organization in Bethlehem called “The Shepherd Society”. This organization helps people with economic needs due to unemployment.
What started with a neglected orange tree has grown to be a charity work that includes selling handmade articles of various kinds. So the blessings from the oranges have expanded.

Elin Elkouby