Turtle Island Coffee Shop, the Indigenous and queer-owned coffee house in downtown Bend, is serving up a traditional Palestinian drink to raise funds for medical relief for Palestinians. The shop began offering Gawah, a latte drink that includes cinnamon, cardamom and rose, last week in an effort to raise funds for Doctors Without Borders, providing medical aid in Gaza and other locations in crisis.
“What’s happening over there is the age-old tale of colonization,” said Teh Sanchez, who owns Turtle Island, along with Beth Brady. “It goes very laterally with the Indigenous plight here in the United States.”
Sanchez and Brady have also been serving up free coffee during weekend ceasefire demonstrations at Peace Corner, on Greenwood and Wall streets in Bend.
“A lot of people’s idea, when they have a business, is to keep it business – it’s for money. It’s for capitalism,” Sanchez told the Source Weekly. “But I mean, your businesses should represent who you are as a human being. I’m not just trying to make money. I want to use whatever platform I have to bring light to whatever injustices are currently happening.”
Turtle Island Coffee originally planned to offer Gawah for a limited time but have since extended that offering.
Turtle Island is located at 180 NW Oregon Avenue in Bend. It’s open seven days a week.
This article appears in Dec 13, 2023 – Dec 25, 2024.
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Medical aid is all well and good, but everything beyond the first paragraph of this article is disgusting. A thought experiment:
These two individuals take that flag they are oh-so-proud of and parade it down two streets: One an avenue in Gaza City, and another in Tel-aviv.
How do you think they would fare? Perhaps — just perhaps — these two should take a little trip to the Muslim world and see how their lifestyle is looked upon by the poor trammeled-upon Palestinians
If the “indigenous plight” involves mass rape, decapitating babies and hostage taking — I guess I know what side I’m on. There is a real bright line of good and evil here and if you don’t see it, you’re either a true sociopath or deluding yourself.
I’m not surprised The Source is jumping on the anti-Semite bandwagon by publishing this garbage, but this is a bridge too far.
“It goes very laterally with the Indigenous plight here in the United States.” No, it doesn’t. This is sorely misinformed and oversimplifies the history of Israel and the Jewish people which goes back 2000 years. If you’re trying to equate the conflict in the Middle East to the Indigenous plight, you’re missing the plot. Raise money for the innocent civilians but please do research instead of assuming the worst and labeling Israel as the oppressor. Please Source do better to publish less misinformation.
Turtle Island Coffee officially off my list of recommend coffee shops in Bend. Disgusting to see antisemitism disguised behind a seemingly positive message. Shame on The Source for publishing this article and promoting these hurtful lies.
I appreciate this coffee shop showing solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people. I wish more Americans would open their eyes/minds/hearts and take some time to explore the history of the conflict. Being pro-peace is not antisemitism. Thank you.
Shame on you Source. Do better.