Third-Annual Event Named After Unique, Beloved Bread
JERUSALEM — “Ka’ek, Ka’ek, Ka’ek,” a young man chants, inviting costumers to buy the sesame-coated bread that is the namesake of an event recently held in East Jerusalem, the Ka’ek Festival. An attempt to bring Palestinian culture to Jerusalem, no Jewish Israelis attended.
As thousands happily flocked to the site of the festival — the Dar Al-Tifel Al-Arabi school in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood — the Zummord family, like many others, stopped to buy ka’ek, which is part of a popular Palestinian breakfast that includes falafel, cheese, baked eggs and the spice zaatar.
“I grew up eating ka’ek and hearing vendors call for customers to buy it,” Shadi Zummord told The Media Line. “I remember as a school kid, I used to grab a ka'ek on the way.”
Shadi’s wife of five years, Jessica, looked at their 4-year-old son,Noor, as she expressed the importance of such an event in Jerusalem.
“Wewould like our son to feel the connection to his city, and this is one way
to do that,” she said, explaining that few events of a similar nature happen in Jerusalem. Shadi, who was born and raised in the city, says that there is a void in the social lives of Arab Jerusalemites. His wife, who is Belgian, agrees.
“It’srefreshing to re-connect with people in our city,” she said.
“Ka’ek is an authentic cultural food of Jerusalem's heritage,” Rami Taha,
one of the festival organizers, told The Media Line. “You can smell the baked ka’ek everywhere in the old city.”
Organizers say many bakeries have attempted to reproduce the bread outside of the old city by using the same equipment and ingredients.
“Israelis tried toreplace ka’ek with bagels but they failed to produce the same taste and quality,” Taha said.
At the entrance, organizers sold tickets to adults for less than $5 while the entry fee for children was just over $1.
Bread wasn’t the only highlight of the festival. Games were arrayed at the entrance and more than 30 booths sold food, accessories, clothing andcrafts. At one of them, three women stood behind a counter selling the traditional dish, mujadara, made from lentils, rice and onions.
“It’s always a good time whenthe people of the city gather around food,” said Ina'm Balbisi as steam billowed out of a pot she was stirring. “It brings out the mood of joy.”
Clowns strolled in the festival’s square, where puppet and storytelling shows
were designed for children. Other booths offered face painting, manicures and henna drawings.
Dressed in a black sweater with Palestinian embroidery, Amna Eweiswalked with her three children toward inflatable castles.
“Ifind fewer people wearing Palestinian traditional clothing,” she said. “I am afraid it will be lost and so I wear it more often, especially at cultural events like this one.”
It’s the third annual festival put on by Ayesha ya Quds (Living Jerusalem), an independent group of more than 40 young men and women.
“One of the group’s aims is to bring life back to Jerusalem. We noticed that
the social life in the city lacked Palestinian presence,” Abed Al-Qutob, an
organizer of the festival and a member of Ayesha ya Quds, told The Media Line. The group aims to provide entertainment space for the younger generation of Arabs in the city.
“The Jerusalem municipality doesn't offer options for Palestinians in
Jerusalem. There are entertainment venues in the city, but with a Jewish
identity, so we don't feel we have a spot there,” Al-Qutob added. “The festival aims at preserving the Palestinian culture and heritage of
Jerusalem as well as connecting Jerusalemites together and bringing a new
life to the city.”
The day of games, music, art and local food was a source of joy to many.
“Palestinians in the Arab eastern part of Jerusalem are under Israeli
pressure to leave the city and immigrate to other Palestinian cities or
abroad. We face this discrimination in our daily lives. This festival is
important to gather Jerusalemites in the city center and old city regardless
of our geographic separation,” Taha said.
As young men and women danced to the rhythms of Yalalan, a Palestinian band, Yasmine Al-Qutob hummed along.
“Muchmore support is being given to cultural events in Ramallah and Jerusalem left alone,” she said. “Everywhere I go in the West Bank, I am asked to bring ka’ek with me. After all, ka’ek is the taste of Jerusalem.”