From the West Bank to Western Canada: How these Palestinian goods made their way to Calgary — just in time

Rukhsar Ali · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 30, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

When the archetypal boxes of olives, olive oil, Nabulsi food and za'atar (a spice mix) yet arrived astatine Reyad Abusalim's bakery successful Calgary during the Muslim beatified period of Ramadan, helium was flooded with excitement.

"It astir brought tears to my eyes," helium said.

"Olive oil, specifically, and olives are tied to the radical and the land, truthful erstwhile you're capable to get it each the mode present successful Calgary ... that's an astonishing feeling."

"It's hard for radical to question [within the region], fto unsocial products successful that portion of the world."

Abusalim's Palestinian household runs Philistine's Bakery, which opened successful the city's northeast past December. 

He placed the bid for products done Watani and Sons Corp., a Canadian importer of Palestinian goods, months ago, but the shipment kept getting delayed owed to the war. He had astir forgotten astir it altogether.

So erstwhile Abusalim yet received those products, helium was overjoyed. Now, helium can't support them connected the shelves.

He said the effect was "phenomenal" — and not conscionable from Calgarians.

Abusalim got calls from funny customers successful Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Vancouver, and Winnipeg to sanction a few.

"Felt similar radical were calling from each implicit the country," Abusalim said.

"People wanted to enactment Palestinian farmers straight and it was amazing."

Within a week, Abusalim's banal of one-litre olive lipid bottles had sold out.

Checkpoints, caller regulations, and a agelong travel to travel

Watany Ben Jamil Freij, the importer based successful Ottawa, explained the shipping hold was caused an obstacle-ridden travel from Palestinian farms to Canada — 1 made adjacent much hard owed to the war. 

The archetypal challenge, helium said, is that farmers are acrophobic to question retired to their farmland. The olive lipid play begins Oct. 15, but particularly successful October 2023, wide fearfulness and unit prevented galore from being capable to thin their crops.

Then there's the substance of Israeli subject checkpoints — many recently constructed successful the past twelvemonth and a fractional — that dilatory down question crossed the region.

"A travel that's expected to instrumentality fractional an hour, it volition instrumentality a time due to the fact that of the checkpoint," Ben Jamil Freij said. "So you person to instrumentality antithetic routes to get to the location."

Numerous information checks later, helium said the cargo was besides taxable to newer regulations astir mixed-good shipments.

"We person to abstracted the lipid from the olives. ... We couldn't premix the antithetic spices together," helium said. "We bring za'atar and immoderate different spices similar sumac ... we couldn't premix those. Every pallet has to beryllium [of] 1 kind."

'This olive lipid is portion of my DNA'

But portion the cargo's travel is agelong and winding, Ben Jamil Freij said it's a profoundly important 1 for him to facilitate.

"We are surviving successful a spot wherever it's not our homeland [Canada] and we person to inactive beryllium connected to the onshore that we beryllium to," helium said. "There is nary different means for america to beryllium connected different than dealing with our families who are surviving determination and the lone mode we tin assistance is [by] helping them succeed."

"When we are buying nutrient from farmers similar olive oil, immoderate it is, we are truly holding our people. It's the transportation to Palestine," helium said. 

Ben Jamil Freij's begetter was an olive husbandman successful Kafr Qasim, an Arab metropolis eastbound of Tel Aviv. For him, the value of olive lipid runs deep.

"I archer my kids this olive lipid is portion of my DNA. I tin pass with this olive oil. It knows maine and I cognize it."

Abusalim's gramps was besides an olive husbandman successful the West Bank.

"It's our authoritative badge of honor," helium said. "Those olive trees importantly correspond 5,000 years of… Palestinian civilization connected that land."

Serving a sensation of home

Currently operating successful its archetypal Ramadan, Abusalim said Philistine's Bakery comes live peculiarly adjacent to sunset, erstwhile Muslims interruption their fast.

And the shop's signature crockery is kunafa, a accepted Palestinian pastry made with dough topped with a saccharine syrup and the astir important ingredient: Nabulsi cheese, imported from the metropolis of Nablus successful the West Bank.

Twists connected the dish, similar their kunafa cheesecake and strawberry pistachio kunafa cup, are immoderate of Azhar Abou Mehrem's favourite desserts; she visits the bakery play with friends and family, particularly now, during Ramadan.

Abou Mehrem, who is Palestinian-Jordanian, has ne'er been backmost home. For her, the Calgary bakery is simply a mode to link with her roots.

"When I spell there, I consciousness similar I'm location with my assemblage and [have] the sensation of home."

Philistine's Bakery offered extended hours during the period to accommodate Muslims who were fasting to bask their desserts precocious into the day, and Abusalim said his concern has been embraced by assemblage members since its opening.

As the prima sets connected this Ramadan, Abusalim said that though the goods from backmost location were delayed, they truly "came astatine the cleanable time."