In an Ancient Marketplace!

As we walked through the colorful marketplace in Hebron which was once the most vibrant part of the city, we wondered why so many shops were shuttered. As we looked up, we noticed a netting above us filled with debris. Our inquiries found that settlers had decide to build on top of the marketplace and would throw down bottles filled with urine, bleach, garbage and a substance called skunk water that is so noxious one cannot get rid of the smell.

As we walked through the colorful marketplace in Hebron - once the most vibrant part of the city - we wondered why so many shops were shuttered. As we looked up, we noticed a netting above us filled with debris. Our inquiries found that Israeli settlers had decide to build on top of the marketplace and would throw down bottles filled with urine, bleach, garbage and a substance called skunk water that is so noxious one cannot get rid of the smell.

How it must feel to the Palestinian shop owners to have their businesses disrupted from above when all they really hoped for from above was to see the stars! What strength it takes to continue in the face of such humiliation in order to protect their goods as well as their customers and feed their families!

Hebron is the city where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca are believe to be buried! Hebron’s Arabic name - Al-Khalil - means “the friend” and as we wandered through this souq, we were greeted along the way as friends with the resounding phrase ”Welcome To Palestine.”

Indeed, we did feel Welcome!

We are happy, shopkeepers of Hebron, for your friendship and to be your friend!