By Miri -
Every
year at the end of September, millions of people visit Munich, the
capital of Bavaria in Germany, to attend the famous Oktoberfest. The
world's largest fair was first held in October 1810 to celebrate
the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese and was hence
repeated every year. Due to its popularity, the Oktoberfest inspired
a large number of similar events by the same name all over the world,
including amongst others Brasil, India, the United States and, yes,
Palestine.
 |
| Germany? Nope. Oktoberfest in Blumenau, Brasil. |
Obviously there are not too many similarities between
Munich, the third largest town in Germany just north of the Bavarian Alps,
and Taybeh, a small Christian Palestinian town northeast of
Ramallah. Munich hosts nine big breweries, many of which are famous
all over the world and a much bigger number of fine micro breweries.
Taybeh on the other hand is home to the one and only Palestinian
brewery, which even preceded the first Israeli micro brewery by no less
than ten years. At least Taybeh beer is being brewed according to the
German purity law, which prohibits the use of any adjuncts or
preservatives and as such, Taybeh could actually be sold at the
Munich Oktoberfest. Maybe at some point in a brighter future...
 |
| Transportation is available from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on both days of the Oktoberfest. Click here for more information & reservations. |
The
founders of the brewery, the brothers Nadim and David Khoury had
originally started their business as a way to boost the Palestinian
economy. After having spent more than two decades in the US, where as a student,
Nadim started to home brew beer, the signing of the
Oslo Accords in 1994 encouraged the brothers to return to their home
town and invest into a Palestinian owned business. Investing money to
start a beer brewery in a predominantly Muslim country? Most people,
whether Palestinian or Israeli, did not believe in the business idea
and thought the brothers had lost their minds, Nadim Khoury
remembers. Yet the Khoury family's optimism and cooperation proved to
be the right recipe for success and Taybeh Beer, which by now can be
found in selected places all over the world, is rightfully called the
“Finest in the Middle East”.
Yet until they reached this point,
the Khourys had to and actually continue to struggle with the
obstacles that result from the Israeli occupation, which severely affects
the Palestinian economy as whole.
Notwithstanding the promises of the
Oslo Accords, which included Israeli-Palestinian cooperation in the
field of trade and commerce, the hardship of the Occupation soon
started to impinge on the business. Especially the movement
restrictions, including closures and long waiting hours at Israeli
controlled checkpoints delayed the imports of essential materials for
the brewing process, as well as the exports, which in turn could
affect the quality of the preservative free beer.
The brothers thus
decided to outsource part of the production to Germany, where Taybeh
became the first Palestinian product ever to be franchised in 1997.
In 2005, the Khourys staged the first Oktoberfest in Taybeh. Dr.
Maria Khoury, David Khoury's wife and one of the main organisers of
the festival, emphasises the difficulty of implementing “new ideas
in a little village that has a rich history and ancient roots in
Palestine going back more than five thousand years, even before the
birth of Christ.“ But again, the strong will of the family
succeeded and the Taybeh Oktoberfest by now is considered to be one
of the highlight events of Palestine. For Dr. Khoury, this success is
especially meaningful as she sees the Oktoberfest as a way of offering a new and different perspective on Palestinian culture and of showing the
world “that all human beings, no matter what their past or future
might hold, are worthy of celebrating life with freedom, liberty,
justice, peace, and happiness”.
 |
| Dance show at the Oktoberfest |
Meanwhile the festivity attracts
tens of thousands of visitors, who indulge in the local beer and
food, enjoy Palestinian music and dance, and wander around the many
stalls offering handcrafts produced by women's cooperatives and other
small local businesses. The festival's policy is strictly about
inclusion and therefore everyone, no matter what her/his background
is, whether Christian, Muslim or Jewish is welcome.
Green Olive Tours
is both offering tours to Taybeh throughout the whole year, which
include also a visit of the brewery, as well as specific tours to theOktoberfest, which in this year will take place on the weekend of
October 6th and 7th. For more information
contact us here.
Comments
Tell your friends. Help spread the word . . . .
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Please confine your comments to appropriate feedback to the post you are commenting on.