Yogurt is at the heart of Palestinian cuisine and culture. For thousands of years, strains of yogurt have been propagated locally and passed down from generation to generation. Palestinian yogurt in particular has a wonderful tang that comes from a long fermentation process. In the midst of Israel’s war on Gaza and its deliberate blocking of humanitarian aid, I hosted a yogurt-making workshop at the Festival for a Free Falasteen to raise money for Gaza relief efforts. Using an heirloom strain of Palestinian yogurt that my friend brought back from Nazareth in 2022, I showed participants how to transform and preserve milk into yogurt. We talked about yogurt as a metaphor for continuity and culture. The fundraiser was a community-led effort. Everyone went home with a jar of heirloom Palestinian yogurt and a recipe card for how to continue propagating that batch of yogurt at home to share with friends and family.
