Sweet Threats?

Last friday night shooting was heard all over the "GanTamar" area of Jaffa, to be followed on saturday night by a very loud explosion on Yefet Street. A handgrenade exploded right next the popular "Moutran Sweets Shop and Cafe", after closing hours. No one was hurt, but the warning is obvious.

A police car was parked next to the store almost all day yesterday, but  today things appear to be "normal".
Ofcourse it might also have been thrown at next door "Video Alpha", Jaffa's main bootlegger and absolute ruler of the areal bootleg DVD market.

Moutran is rather expensive and the quality of the sweets they sell doesn't come close to that of the original Nazareth branch of the same name and much fame. The quality of the Jaffa branch coffee is low and that's an understatement. Their coffee  ranks deep below that of the coffee machine at the legal aid office in Tel Aviv and i always thought one could go no lower. I can very well understand one not liking the coffee and sweets, but throwing a grenade is not an accepted form of restaurant criticism.

There appears to be a surge in street violence right now, although i have no idea if there is a connection between the events.

Many of last week's drug-bust arrestees are still under arrest, which may well mean a power struggle's under development in the "market", a vacuum never lasts long.

Akko, for a change

Akko's old city was empty today. Some local kids, the occasional woman buying some vegetables for dinner. At the sea front a single fisherman. The harbour: empty. Trays of delicious and tempting nut-candy find no buyers.
The restaurants: the owners of nearby empty coffeeshops and humus places share a coffee and a languid game of sheshbesh.
And police, yes, there were quite a few police men for such an empty town.

Normally during Sukot, Akko is host the the alternative theatre festival; lots of shows in many of Akko's ancient halls as well as in the streets, filled with tourists who arrive annually especially for the festival.

Not this year.

Right-wing extremists carried out a pogrom against Akko's Palestinian population. Three homes of Palestinian families were torched and completely burnt and several more families have had to leave their homes and have not yet been able to return. They are waiting until it will be safe again. But will it?

When Palestinian wounded were carried to ambulances, the police watched and stood by when the angry mob attacked them.

The theatre festival could have been used as a place to come together, to talk, to try to deal with the conflict. The theatre festival takes place far away from the troubled "Mizrahi" neighborhood where the pogrom took place. Its cancellation was the mayor's punishment of Akko's Arab population.
The Palestinian population of the Old City depend for their livelyhood on the festival. It's the one week of the year when Akko is full and festival participants spend much money eating out, buying drinks, sweets and trinkets.
Cancellation the festival robs all of Akko's people of a fun event, and theatre lovers of a quality experience, but it hurts the people of the Old City, many of whom are poor, of their livelihood.

Yet the implications go beyond Akko.
A similar situation could easily arise in all of the mixed cities, where the Palestinians have been undergoing decades long discrimination in all fields: education and culture, welfare, housing, employment etc etc.

Jaffa in that sense is very much like Akko.
Yet, violence is preventable. It really depends on how wise we all are.

Having an extremist yeshiva right in the middle of Ajami doesn't help and is potentially dangerous.

When a girl needs a smoke, she

Gets her smoke, whatever it takes. Even when it's really cold and very wet
Anti smoking laws aren't popular in Jaffa, but slowly they're becoming more accepted and smokers rest in their lots, knowing they have little choice.
In Jaffa's cafes smoking is still acceptable and no smoking areas don't even exist in theory. Who cares about the law.

However, some places do enforce the law. So smokers are faced with new problems: finding an acceptable smoking corner (or mahshesha, in localese).

As long as the weather is nice, that isn't much of a problem, but once it get's tough, the tough get going, and they are very tough, Jaffa sized tough.

Watermelon

Abba Nisim isn't that young any more. His children and grandchildren live in the USA, as can be seen from the photographs stuck on the wall next to the check-out counter of his watermelon stand.
When saying watermelon stand, don't imagine a simple wooden table and an umbrella at the side of the road.
Abba Nisim's is located close to the very southern end of the Jaffa part of Jerusalem boulevard and "Davidov Park".
You cannot possibly miss it when passing by, but believe me, it's worth a special trip:
The walls of the stand owned by Abba Nisim are red and gold, the lamp a chandelier, complete with cristal tear drops.
Flowers (white yellow orchids, no more no less) and cristals also adorn each of the watermelons, perfectly arranged in a huge pyramid at the entrance. Colored lamps light up the stand during the evening hours.
At the back of the stall there is place to sit down and eat your melon on the spot. The walls here are covered by red and gold as well. Overlooking the scene is a portrait of Abba Nisim's father (of blessed memory) in a large blue fluorescent star of David.

And the watermelon? Sweeter than sweet. Red & juicy.
Nothing better when it's a hot June day in Jaffa.

My favorite cafe, introducing the new owner: Itzik

Some things in Jaffa are good, really good, and have now gotten even better.
Itzik, the best coffee-maker in the Middle East after having worked for years at Cafe "Paul's", now bought the place.

GOOD LUCK ITZIK!!!

And for those of you living here and as yet unfamiliar with "Paul's:

Paul's Cafe is a virtual Jaffa institution, located at 142 Yefet Street, between the little post office (actually, they reopened it after the renovation, a little earlier than expected) and another Jaffa classic, "Andre's" of icecream fame.

Paul's was started by Paul (obviously) on the other side of Yefet street, more or less opposite its current location.
Just another small coffee place with excellent coffee and not much else. A place to meet with some friends after work, or to start the day with an espresso designed to wake up the dead.
Close to our ex-market (of blessed memory), centrally located, it quickly became popular with all.
When the old place became to small, Paul opened up a new spot, larger and fancier, in cooperation with wife Mona and his 2 sons.
After several successful years as one of the best cafes in Jaffa (perhaps the best) serving good coffee and great teas, tragedy struck the family and within a short while Paul and his 2 sons died.

Itzik, the waiter, assisted, became a coffee specialist and repairman of espresso machines of all kinds. A friendly caring and easygoing guy.

To make a looong story short, Itzik bought the place 2 days ago and a good cafe became even better.