That December evening, David took out the hanukkiah, the nine-branch candlestick, to light the first candle. Each day that Hanukkah lasts, at sunset, it will light one more. Raised in a small American town in a Jewish family of Russian, Ukrainian and Hungarian origins, this 39-year-old man has been living in Israel for more than fifteen years. This journalist covers the news of the region for an American media. Without being very religious, he respects Jewish traditions.
This is David’s first Hanukkah in Jaffa, the historic old Arab port that borders the capital, Tel Aviv. He moved there more than a year ago, with his companion (both wanted to testify anonymously and change their first names). Amir, 40, is Palestinian – or “Israeli Arab”, in the words of the Jewish state.
Racist Thoughts
After thirteen years in Jerusalem, the couple chose to settle in Amir’s lands. He grew up in Jaffa, in a modest family of Muslim tradition, established in this city for generations. This hedonist passionate about pastry declares himself an atheist, but loves parties. His family has always practiced a joyful religious syncretism: “At home, we celebrated Eid, of course, but we also made a Christmas tree… My mother sometimes tried to make sufganiyot, the sweet Hanukkah donuts, and she made us decorate Easter eggs, like Christians. » A typical mix of “the spirit of Jaffa”, where Jews, Muslims and Christians lived peacefully together for a long time.
In the mild air of the end of the year 2022, a large Christmas tree sits enthroned in the central square. Amir gives David a taste of the cake he just baked, shares the image with friends online, before going to tend his plants. Lemon trees, orange trees, succulents: the terraces are filled with his botanical experiments. The brand new apartment overlooking Tel Aviv Bay is located in the heart of the renovated and trendy Jaffa.
Pharmacist in Tel Aviv, Amir claims not to be interested in politics. But the atmosphere in Jerusalem had become heavy for the gay and mixed couple. Racist thoughts from neighbours, customers of the pharmacy… Amir felt less and less at ease there. With David, they thought that everything would be better by moving near Tel-Aviv, a city among the most gay-friendly in the world. They wanted to rediscover the carelessness of their life as thirty-something urbanites, with their friends, mostly Jews and leftists. “Gay or not, Jewish-Palestinian couples remain rare in Israel, observes Diana, an Israeli-American who has been with Amir and David for fifteen years. In their circle of friends, we do not consider them as a “curiosity”, we love them for their generosity and we like to be at home. » But, faced with the political evolution of the country, David and Amir become disillusioned.
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