It is entirely natural to feel helpless about the situation in the Middle East, right now. But we have long supported the Palestinian brand Zaytoun – who also produce the best olive oil and almonds we’ve ever tasted – and feel it is important to offer a financial lifeline to Palestine’s farmers and producers.

And honestly, this is a win-win, because these are a great soak – for tired feet (we’re fond of a foot bath!), tired limbs, achiness… Plus, they are harvested from the only area of the Dead Sea which is part of Palestine, helping to keep its economy – well, afloat, in very difficult times. (For more about this project, click here.)

 For thousands of years, people have travelled to the Dead Sea for its health benefits – a unique mix of potassium, magnesium, sodium and calcium (and if it was good enough for Cleopatra, it’s good enough for us), to ease aches and pains and stress. Counterintuitively, Dead Sea salts also help to ease dry and irritated skin.

We bought packs of these salts for several friends, as a supportive gesture (for them and for Zaytoun’s sea salt producer) – a hefty pack is priced just £6.95, FYI, so it’s not much of a stretch to be generous.

Bottom line: many of our problems close to home feel like they can be solved – or at least eased – by a long, hot bath. But for those caught up in the Middle East’s crisis, it’s a lot more complicated.

So, sign peace petitions; support your friends (who may be on either side of this so-divisive conflict), and help where you can. But we do also suggest that you might like to check out Zaytoun, whose business offers a real lifeline to a community that is caught up in the conflict. 

£6.95 for 750g – buy here

Prize Draws