Papayas in Israel!

For once in a very long while, I have a Saturday off. No school, no library, no classes. First thing I did after my daily chores was to grab the shurut for my other community in Jaffa. The sea breeze and calm is good for my fever and allergic reaction of the past few days. I managed to sleep for several hours. It was good.

Papayas for sale!

And being a Saturday, the bazaar in front of St. Peter's Church was bustling with business. Tel Aviv municipality has waivered the Sabbath Law of no-work so many hawkers and shops open. I caught up with Jenny and Meier who sell souvenirs to tourists. And finally met with Shlomi after a very long time. He sells honeyed-nuts and fresh juice. Spent some time chatting with them. It was good to catch up with old friends. And surprise! I found papayas on sale in Tel Aviv! I miss the fruit very much. It's been 2 decades since I tasted a fresh papaya. Now apparently Israel is growing them in Ashkelon near Gaza where the humidity and climate are suitable for papaya plantations. In fact the government has hired a filipino franciscan friar to help in the development of this plantation.

Anyway Meier recounted what happened to the guy in the opposite stall last week. His name is Rudy and he sells trinkets and wallets. Last week he lost his wallet containing the whole week's earnings, driving licence, ID card, credit card etc... He was panicking and spent 2 hours searching the entire area. Rudy is known for his right-wing anti-arab sentiments. Then came an arab muslim family. They saw him searching distraughtly but they could not communicate with him as they spoke no hebrew, and he no arabic. They pointed to the wallets he was selling and Rudy said it cost 40 shekels each. They shook their heads and kept pointing and he kept saying the same thing, getting angrier each time. Finally he realised they were asking if he was looking for his wallet. He gestured that he lost his wallet and the family produced the wallet they found down the road. Every cent was intact. Rudy was very touched and cried. He could not believe his arab enemies could be so honest. He offered them a reward but they refused. He offered them a gift but they again refused. Rudy had changed his mind about arabs and muslims. A little act of honesty and kindness changed one man's concept of the Israeli-arab conflict.