The little Palestinian brewery that could

Fri, 10/02/2009 - 1:34pm

It's 1993. The Oslo Accords have just been signed, and your wealthy Palestinian family has money for new business ventures. Why not a brewery?

Yes, fifteen years on from its official founding, Taybeh Brewery is still going strong. The conditions may not be ideal: as the Guardian points out,"the population is predominantly teetotal Muslims. It operates in bleak economic conditions, with high unemployment and the extra costs and challenges of dealing with the checkpoints and delays that make up Israel's military occupation. And, on top of that, they have to market their Palestinian beer to Israeli customers."

But the brewery, run by Nadim Khoury, who learned to brew beer at home while living in the US, has overcome these obstacles and even harder times (business almost completely died off during the Second Infitada) on its way to being the first Palestinian product in Germany, and a popular beer in Japan. Their latest venture is a non-alcoholic variety marketed at young Palestinians. With the Palestinian economy recovering slightly, Khoury hopes the brewery can continue to show that "we have a right to enjoy life. Enough is enough with the fighting."

ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images

James Downie | Permalink | | Comments? Login or register
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Beer - the new celebratory libation?

by GISdudez916 on Sun, 10/04/2009 - 2:52pm

Hey, if a good brew is good for Obama and mending fences between police and professors, I think this would be good between Palestinians and Israelis.

Ironic

by cnbcaddict on Mon, 10/05/2009 - 1:13pm

Talk about operating in the lions den! Selling Beer for the past 15 years! That is some accomplishment.

David
Investools Review

What a shame

by Abba on Mon, 10/05/2009 - 2:17pm

This is a very inspiring story.
It's a shame that the people in that region are so mired in their mythology and superstitions.

Religion has been the source of so much tension in the world, from ALL the monotheistic ideologies.
From the newly arrived fanatical "Settlers" (I abhor that word, since it leaves the impression that they're courageous explorers in a newly found, empty land) who believe that the ramblings of ancient men somehow give them "divine" rights over people who have law and history on their side, to the native dwellers of the land who believe that THEIR own imaginary friend sides with them and by "divine" right certain parcels of earth are theirs alone and therefore "holy", to the Christian Zionists in the US and elsewhere who wholeheartedly support the Zionist enterprise as a means to hasten the razing of the Al Aqsa mosque and building in it's place a DIFFERENT temple.

That action would inflame the muslim world and bring about a confrontation the likes of which have never been seen. Unimaginable millions of innocents would die by "Holy" nuclear fire, and would hasten the End of the World that so many religionists achingly long for.

This is the context in which that brave businessman operated his brewery, not to mention the puritanical muslim elements in the W. Bank who take it upon themselves to to their god's business and pass judgement on him.

They are no different than the roaming bands of hasidim that follow women who they deem to be sinful home and beat them to make them change their supposedly frowned upon behavior and dress.

When will humanity grow up?