Thank you to everyone who attended, promoted, assisted with and shopped at our Gather for Gaza: a Fundraising Festival on February 22 at MCC East Bay!

YOUR efforts helped us raise $23,000 for Iftar meals in Gaza.

We are overwhelmed by the amount of support and love our Bay Area community showed and all that translated to being able to contribute to meals, on the ground, in Gaza through Third Pillar Charity.

Thank you to MCC East Bay for hosting our event and special thanks to our vendors! Did you know all our vendors made a donation to Third Pillar before our event even started? Let’s support these wonderful small businesses who are eager to contribute and support our brothers and sisters in Gaza.

A full list of vendors is included below.

Thank you again to everyone who made this happen!

Vendors who supported our Fundraising Festival:

Businesses who donated items to our silent auction:

• iniBurger

• Amalfi Mediterranean Fusion

• A Date with Chocolate

• Little Life of Mine

• Good Rain Publishing

• Tehmina Khan Photography

• Makeup by Fatima Ali

• Naan N Curry

• Manakish

• Mindful Muslim Reader

• Qurrat A'Yun Studios

• Orchard Florist

Palestine-themed products:

• Baladna

• Palestine Stitch Story

• Project Hope for Palestine

• Zeinat Palestine store (ceramics)

• Totah Studio

• Screenprints 4 Palestine

• Olive Branch Bazaar & Nablus Soap USA

• Ra7aal Shop

• Rahma Mediterranean Market (Palestinian Dates)

• Wafa Shami’s Books

• Feast in the Middle East Cookbook

Food and Drinks:

• Salaam Cola

• Ard Gaza

• 523SOUTHERNHALALBBQ

• Mama’s Shawarmas

• AHMA’s Kitchen Halal Fusion style

• Delicacies by Sheen

• Masuma and Lina (Afghan Food and Chai)

• Suzy’s Snack Shack

• Habibis Falooda

• Covo Coffee

• Zoya’s

• Precious Wonders by Naba

• Sukar Habibi

• The Old City Roastery

Ramadan and Eid Themed Products:

• Khadija’s Creations (Ramadan and Eid themed Crafts and decor)

• Balloonbae.co (Kids Coloring Shirts for Ramadan, henna and more)

• Modestly (Ramadan Decor)

• A Date with Chocolate

Hijabs and Abayas:

• Asiyah’s Collections

• Muhajiba Abayas

• MJ’s Trendz

• Hijab Fashion X

• Modest Rose Clothing

• Hayaat collections

• Elegant Muslimah USA

• Taqdimaat Abayas & Hijabs

• Hijab Elegance

• TnS Hijabs

• Fatima Beauty

• Modestly

Books:

• Feast in the Middle East (Cookbook)

• Wafa Shami’s Books

• Mindful Muslim Reader

• Soul of My Soul Exhibit (Books by Palestinian Authors)

Cultural Clothes:

• Ameri Souq (Men’s Muslim Wear)

• Izna Desi Collection (Desi Jewelry and men’s kurta shalwar)

• Pakistani_inCali

• Egyptian Store by Rasha Wahba

• Najah’s Boutique LLC (Traditional khaliji style clothing for men, women and children)

• Afghan Attire

• Hi-5 Trend (Indian and Pakistani clothes and jewelry)

• RubyluxDresses

Jewelry:

• Made by Sana

• Afsana Boutique (Central Asian Jewelry)

• Cresent Designs

• HappyGemsJewelry

Art:

• Hafsah’s Art

• Quranhut Artistry

• Ruh

• Rayan and Jenna’s 3D Prints

• Andres’ Craft Table

Other:

• Maha Beauty

• MCC Girl Scouts

• Moon House (kitchen and home items)

• ehijabndmore (Customized mugs, shirts, sweatshirts, stickers, waterbottles, and tote bags)

• Salam Scouts

• Samali Perfumes

• Sunnah Healing Remedies

• Henna by Zahra

• Seventh Design

• Soul of My Soul Exhibit - including unique Palestine themed and Ramadan themed crafts!

Join us on Monday, Feb 17 at 6 pm to learn about the current climate in the West Bank, particularly the village of Wadi Foquin.

Rev Yoshii and four others from the US recently spent a week with Palestinian families who have experienced nighttime IDF raids, demolition of homes and the threat of land confiscation to build an apartheid road.

There will be a brief presentation followed by an opportunity for Q&A. Refreshments will be served.

Join us in-person at MCC East Bay (Conference room) 5724 W Las Positas Blvd, Pleasanton or online at mcceastbay.org/live

This event is being hosted by MCC East Bay, Asbury United Methodist Church, Jewish Voices for Peace Bay Area, Friends of Wadi Foquin, Mount Diablo Peace and Justice Center and Soul of My Soul Exhibit.

Speaker Bio:

Reverend Michael Yoshii is a retired pastor of 30 years at Buena Vista United Methodist Church. He understands the profound impact of such injustices from the firsthand experiences of both his former congregation and his parents. This historical and generational trauma in part fuels Yoshii’s solidarity within his own community as well as with other marginalized groups, most notably for him, Palestinians facing apartheid. 

Friends of Wadi Foquin was created in 2009 with a small amount of fundraising to build beehives in the village. This helped offset the significant damage inflicted on agricultural life by nearby Israeli settlements, whose roads are prohibited to Palestinians. Through projects like reclaiming a dilapidated building for a community center or building a soccer field on Palestinian land threatened by the occupation, Friends of Wadi Foquin sent a powerful message that life and dignity will not be denied. This is a powerful alliance which reminds us that the movement for justice anywhere reinforces the struggle for justice everywhere.  

Yoshii spoke about the first time he visited Palestine in 2006: “The thing is you’re there in person and physically, viscerally, your body is experiencing the occupation and you’re in the presence of other people who are trying to tell their stories. And the couple of things that hit me, I think that were very central to my identity as a Japanese American. The first thing was about people sharing their stories and their history. I mean, history is essentially being censored, particularly when we went on some of our exposure trips and met people from the North and heard their stories of their families and villages, which are being basically dismantled and demolished, people are losing their homes. There’s a resonance for me as a Japanese American because we went through the same struggle. I can’t say it’s anything in comparison to Palestinians, but the similar thread is that we went through the struggle of needing to tell our story too.”

Source

Join us for a Fundraising Bazaar featuring the Soul of My Soul Exhibit in support of HEAL Palestine & other mutual aid programs.  Our family-friendly and free event will include an art station for making:

• valentines, silk screening, henna, a kid's library, spoken word/poetry, live music, performances, and a guided tatreez workshop.

We will have an array of activities, plus beautiful art and products from Palestine or Palestinian-owned shops, to both raise awareness and funds for families in Palestine

To volunteer for this event, please fill out this form  (free meal included for volunteers)

Schedule:

• 1:00 pm - Opening song with Raging Grannies

• 1:05 - Opening ceremony, land acknowledgement

• 1:10 -  Poets from Palestine

• 1:30 - Music - Aswat

• 2:00 pm - Multifaith voices of Palo Alto

• 2:10 - Music - Aswat

• 2:40 - Guest speakers from Palestine

• 3pm - Raffle, announcements

• 3:15 - Closing ceremony - sharing Valentines with Palestine

The Art, Culture & Craft Bazaar will be open to the public, between 1-4pm.  The pop-up clinic and community care circle will be open from 1-3pm. 

Current list of contributors: 

This list is expanding and registration is open:

1. Art for Humanity

2. Salaam Cola

3. Ra7aal Palestinian traditional tatreez embroidery kits pattern

4. Baked goods for Gaza

5. Soul of My Soul - books and more

6. HEAL Palestine - food and more

7. Artists for Palestine Collective

Workshop stations & other offerings:

These are the stations, available for free to the community with donation to HEAL Palestine encouraged:

1. Silk Screening Valentines for Palestine with David & Julie

2. Pop-up Clinic for Wellbeing 

3. Tatreez table & Palestinian guided embroidery workshop

4. Community conversations with tea

5. Reading library - kids books about Palestine 

Raffle: 

Amazing items up for a $10 Raffle ticket, all proceeds go to Palestine Children’s Relief Fund

1. Husary Organic Olive Oil + Tour of Orchard and Potted Olive Trees for your yard: Palestinian family owned in Sebatipol, CA.  Prize includes a gift basket of 3 bottles of Palestinian made olive oil (1 from Palestine), 2 olive oil soaps, an personalized invitation to tour the olive grove and harvest facility and 2 one gallon olive trees grown at Husary Nursery 

2. Bae Tea Coffee & Local Palestine food basket w/ cooking class with professional Palestinian chef*

Alhamdulliah medical visas are now being granted so that injured Gazans can get adequate treatment in the San Francisco Bay Area. We will hear from Farah, who lost an eye and leg during the Gaza genocide.  

MCC is helping Heal Palestine prepare for the patients in the Bay Area. Learn Farah’s first-hand account and how you can help host and help our blessed sisters and brothers visiting us for medical treatment in the Bay Area.

 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. | Friday, February 14 | MCC Prayer Hall | Join us in person at 5724 West Los Positas Blvd, #300, Pleasanton CA

Heal Palestine is a leading NGO providing critical support for children with severe injuries and amputations who cannot receive adequate treatment in Gaza. They evacuate these children to specialized care facilities in the U.S., opening new horizons and fully covering their expenses and arrangements. With 92 percent of Gaza has been destroyed, Heal Palestine’s work is more important than ever.

A powerful art workshop on creating hand-painted decorative plates inspired by the vibrant floral and arabesque patterns of Al Khalil, Palestine. You will also learn about the cultural significance and history of Palestinian ceramics.
Registration is required and all materials will be included with registration.

All proceeds will go directly to supporting Palestinians on the ground in Palestine

Saturday, February 8th
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Los Gatos Islamic Center, 16769 Farley Rd.

Register @ bit.ly/wvma-plateart

Registration Here - https://tinyurl.com/HolyLandAccounts for In-person and Online

• Sign-in & Registration 3:00-3:30PM

• Eyewitness accounts from the Holy Land starts promptly at 3:30PM with Q&A

• Stay for networking from 5-7 and buy your holiday gifts all the way from Bethlehem

Registration required - https://tinyurl.com/HolyLandAccounts

Join us for the first Palestine Winter Market and fundraiser for Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) on Dec 14, in San Jose! Support Palestinian artisans and keep ancient crafts alive! Purchase unique gifts that support Palestinian children and families in Gaza and the West Bank.

Olive oil, ceramics, embroidery, jewelry, olive wood, cookbooks, keffiyehs, soap, stunning scarves, Palestinian Dead Sea products, children’s toys and books, kitchenware, t-shirts & thobes, and much more will be available.

Plus celebrate the rich culinary heritage of Palestine with delicious food and coffee!

This is a family friendly event with henna, story time with Palestinian children book authors, and more.


Date: Saturday, 14 December 
Time: 11am - 4 pm
Location: 3962 Twilight Dr, San Jose, CA 95124

Activities:

• Henna

• Story time with Author Tala El-Fahmawi at 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm

• Silent Auction for a Tatreez Covered Guitar

• Raffle to win an authentic Palestinian Thobe from Al Farrah Boutique (all proceeds will be donated to MECA)

Confirmed Vendors:

• Shop Palestine

• Handmade Palestine

• Totah Studio

• Ra7aal Tatreez Kits

• Paisley Henna

• Asiyah’s Collection

• Palestine Imports

• Salaam Cola

• Palestine Stitch Story

• Razzouk Catering

• The Old City Roastery

• Covo Coffee

• Ard Gaza

• Sandouka Coffee

• Raffle and Prizes by Halal Bites and Bazaar

TEA for Palestine (Truth, Education & Action)
Hosted by NorCal Sabeel
www.NorCalSabeel.org

Location: 401 26th Street, Oakland, CA 94612

Refreshments & Music by ASWAT Ensemble

Report back from Gaza by Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, who volunteered at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza in March and April 2024 and Dr. Hesham Zakaria, who also served at the European Hospital in Khan Younis in April 2024.

All expenses associated with this event are donated. All funds collected are tax exempt and will be directed toward medical relief for Palestinians, especially for those in Gaza and transferred to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)

MAP currently maintains 2 major hubs in Gaza and in Beirut Lebanon. It employs local Palestinian medical professionals, works in collaboration with Palestinian communities to develop local capacity and skills and to answer a wide range of health and social needs, from providing vital medical aid in emergencies, to supporting the development of better health services for the long term.

This event is hosted by NorCal Sabeel and co-sponsored by: Zawaya-ASWAT ensemble, Middle East Children's Alliance-MECA, Jewish Voice for Peace JVP-Bay Area, American Muslims for Palestine-Bay Area, Mt. Diablo Peace and Justice Center, Soul of My Soul Exhibit and Ecumenical Peace Institute.
Reserve your ticket and/or donate shorturl.at/KLB7A

Join us at Newark Public Library as we celebrate the Palestinian Olive Harvest! This is an event geared towards children and will feature traditional food samples, olive oil tasting, dabke dancing, story time, arts and crafts, traditional fashion, face painting and more!

NEWARK PUBLIC LIBRARY presents 

The Palestinian Olive Harvest Festival 

 On November 30th, join us from 11 am to 4 pm! 

Schedule: 

11:00 am: Welcome Song 

11:30 am: Story Time - Reading of Sitti’s Olive Trees (author Ndaa Hassan) 

12:00 pm: Learn to Dabke! Interactive Dance Session 

12:30 pm: Learn to Dabke! Interactive Dance Session 

1:00 pm: Learn to Dabke! Interactive Dance Session 

2:00 pm: Story time - Reading of These Olive Trees (author Aya Ghanameh) 

3:00 pm: Story Time - Author Wafa Shami will be reading her book When Za’atar Met Zeit 

Throughout the day, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in olive oil tasting, sampling traditional Palestinian foods, creating unique crafts, and getting their face painted.**

**Availability of these activities will be dependent on the availability of supplies

*no registration required

Address: Newark Public Library, 37055 Newark Blvd, Newark CA

https://tinyurl.com/PleasantonWOTW/

Register here, https://tinyurl.com/LivermoreWOTW

https://tinyurl.com/LivermoreWOTW

Friends of Wadi Foquin Circle at Asbury presents…

FEATURING
Musical Guests: Loay Dahbour & Hashemite Abdul-Hadi
Dabke (Traditional Dance)
Tasty Treats
Palestinian Crafts for Sales
Striking Photography
Speakers highlighting Wadi Foquin (West Bank)
Soul of My Soul Exhibit

For Boys & Girls Ages 13 to 18: Join Soul of My Soul Exhibit in creating a hand-painted decorative plate in the traditional style of Al Khalil (Hebron), Palestine. 

In addition to creating a beautiful keepsake for yourself, you will also learn about the personal experiences of Bay Area locals with the apartheid and occupation in the West Bank. Participants will have the unique opportunity to hear from a Palestinian teenager currently living in the West Bank to foster a better understanding of the situation.

ArtWalk 2024 - Downtown Livermore

FREE entry, no tickets required.
Featuring Palestinian arts, crafts, dance, Soul Of My Soul Exhibit table, and henna by Paisleyhenna.

Come dance with us!
Learn to Dabke at: Noon, 2:00 PM, & 4:00 PM

One Year of Genocide. One Year of unspeakable horrors. We will never forget Reem, Sidra, Hind and all the victims. Not after one year or after a hundred years.