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Sister Bridget Tighe with Jane Mellett, Trócaire’s Church Manager in October 2024. Photo: Jane Mellett.
As the war on Palestine continues, a small olive wood workshop, run by Caritas Jerusalem has given hope to a group of craftspeople. Sister Bridget Tighe has been central to the project and spoke to Trócaire about its impact and the significance of the Olive tree in Palestine.
Sister Bridget Tighe, originally from Sligo, has spent a great deal of her life in the Middle East, dedicating her time to service the poor and dispossessed in Jordan and Palestine. She came to Gaza in 2015 to do medical work with Caritas Jerusalem, after an intense bombardment by the Israeli military.
‘I travelled the length and breadth of Gaza, which is not very long and is actually very narrow. I knew every bit of Gaza. I loved the people, I loved the work. I felt safe, I felt protected. I never felt afraid. So my love for Gaza is very deep.’
She was then asked to become Secretary General of Caritas Jerusalem, overseeing its work in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank. For her long-standing humanitarian leadership, she was presented with the Romero Award by Trócaire in 2018; the award is given in honour of Bishop Oscar Romero, who was murdered in El Salvador for his commitment to the poor and resisting injustice.
Although she recently retired, Sister Bridget still works closely with Caritas Jerusalem, dividing her time between the UK and the Middle East. This year she has been particularly active in finding solutions amidst the ongoing chaos of war.
As the unrelenting horror has unfolded in Gaza for over a year now, it can be easy to forget that the people of the West Bank have also experienced an intensifying campaign of intimidation, violence and deprivation.
Before October 2023, tourism was a vital sector for many people in the West Bank, with items made from olive wood sold to tourists to the Holy Land, but that has been severely disrupted by the ongoing war. As Sister Bridget explains,
‘The Olive tree and olive wood are almost sacred to Palestinians…the olive wood that is left over after the trees are pruned, after the olive harvest, that is sold to the factories or smaller workshops in the Bethlem area for the production of olive wood ornaments. That gives employment to a range of people…it gives employment to a different range of people with different expertise.
Because the olive harvest is so vital to Palestinians, it has also become a target in the ongoing violence. In the past year, the olive tree harvest has been targeted by illegal settlers in the West Bank. In November, the UN reported that Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank had more than tripled during his year’s olive harvest compared with the previous three years.
New houses being constructed at the Israeli settlement of Eldad, south of Bethlehem in the West Bank. These settlements are illegal under international law, yet despite condemnation from the international community, continue to expand on Palestinian land. Photo : Garry Walsh/Trócaire
During her time with Caritas Jerusalem, Sister Bridget was involved in connecting olive wood craftspeople to supporters around the world. In 2018, Caritas Jerusalem agreed to produce 1.5 million small olive wood rosaries for World Youth Day Panama.
Although she and the person she worked with on the project have moved on from Caritas, they both still work closely with Caritas Jerusalem and this year she knew the time was right to connect craftspeople to Trócaire, so that crafts could be sold in Ireland:
‘What motivated us was pure and simple to give income and dignity to the people of Bethlehem who depend almost entirely on pilgrims and tourists for income. That stopped suddenly when the recent war started so these people were left without work and income and became more and more desperate as time went on as the war continues. That is our motive in getting people like Trócaire to buy olive wood goods from these people in Bethlehem.
Sister Bridget walks with Trócaire ambassador, Deirdre O’Kane on a visit to Gaza in 2019. Photo: Mark Steadman.
Trócaire bought the olive wood ornaments and then sold them at the Galway Christmas market and our Trócaire shop in Cork, giving people in Ireland the opportunity to support the work directly.
Donate to Trócaire’s Christmas Appeal today and help bring comfort to those who need it most here. Or if you would like to give a Gift of Change, see Trócaire’s selection of life changing gifts here.
