Olive Oil



The most popular Street name in Israel is "Hazait"="Olive street"
Of biblical Israel's seven species, Grapes, Wheat, Barley, Figs, Dates, Pomegranates and Olives, the last certainly stands out. Over 90% of the world’s olive oil is produced in the Mediterranean. Mentioned over 200 times in the bible, the olive and its oil are very important components of the Israeli landscape, culture, diet and religion.

Unlike most trees, the olive tree doesn’t have a “heart” or rings.
That may explain why “As the consumption of olive makes you forget a 70 years study, the olive oil brings it back”(Babylonian Talmud Horayot 13b). A fruit from such tree is beneficial only after it smashed into an olive oil and looses its bitterness…
Having "no heart" can also explain why it’s hard to date olive trees.
The visible indication to the olive tree’s age is the trunk: the thicker it is the older the tree is.
In Israel there are ancient olive trees that are few hundreds years old many of them are in the Galilee. Some claim that the olive trees at the Garden of Gethsemane are two thousands years old but it’s hard to proove.


Hundreds of ancient olive presses were found around the country indicating a massive olive oil production in Israel through the ages.I was pretty amazed to discover that today,Israel needs to import olive oil!.
The local production can cover only about two thirds of the demand.
The highest demand is in the Arab society. With that, the number of the olive presses is growing and a lot of small to medium boutique olive presses were open in the last few years. Many of those olive presses offer tours that explain about ancient ways of olive oil production as well as sampling different olive oils and other olive products.


The Greeks impure the entire temple oils except for one the one jug that was found. It seems like it could’ve been easier just to get rid of the oil, why to make it impure?
In a symbolic way it can summarize the whole difference between a world of faith and the world of “nature”.
In a world that believes in Nature alone there’s no difference between pure and impure oil. Both oils can make light and the eye won’t feel the difference.
The Greeks didn’t want to fully destroy the oil-the Jews. But they wanted to hurt their essence- the pure oil.

Out of 450 suggestions, the state of Israel chose the 7 branches Menorah with 2 olive branches to its sides as its symbol. Symbolizing the continuity between the biblical Land of Israel and the modern state, the olive trees are sometimes a symbol of the Israeli Arab conflict.
Driving by ancient olive trees on Israel’s terraced hillsides seem to exude a wisdom accumulated from witnessing centuries of human history that will hopefully be used as a future symbol of real peace.