Hebron, occupied West Bank – Sari al-Jabari showed up early to work at Hebron’s Tikkiyya Ibrahimiyya, a shelter for the poor and needy since its founding in 1279, one of the oldest in the region.
A tikkiyya is a charitable foundation in Islamic tradition, established to provide shelter, food and aid to those who need it most.
The 37-year-old oversees Tikkiyya’s cold storage, a vital part of the supply chain, he says, for preparing thousands of meals a day.
Al-Jabari fervently believes in the mission he volunteered for for three years before being hired a year and a half ago.
He explains his role to Tel Aviv Tribune, how the next day’s needs are determined so that each family who comes to the site has enough food, regardless of their size, to get through the day.
“We work hard to provide enough food for everyone who comes here,” he adds, pointing to the team of nine other permanent employees and what appears to be countless volunteers.
The Tikkiyya has existed since the 13th century, although it now stands next to the Ibrahimi Mosque and not in its original location.
In 1963, the building it was in was demolished and the foundation had to move, only to move again in 1983 to its current location, a few meters from an Israeli checkpoint but still accessible to those who need it.
Hebron, like many other cities in the occupied West Bank, is crippled by Israeli checkpoints that prevent the movement of people living there and make transportation between cities almost impossible.
But the Tikkiyya team perseveres, day after day.
Keep people alive
Before October 7, when Israel launched a relentless attack on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an attack carried out by armed Palestinian factions from Gaza on Israeli territory, the Tikkiyya provided approximately 1,000 meals per day.
She relied on donations to enable her to produce so much food, and the PA Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs funds salaries and administrative costs.
Until the war on Gaza caused a chain reaction of economic distress, with tens of thousands of Gaza workers stuck in the occupied West Bank and unable to return home or work while trade was almost entirely disrupted.
The Palestinian Authority has had to step up funding for Tikkiyya in the face of thousands more hungry mouths who need to be fed.
Like Hatem Dawoud al-Rajabi, 55, and his family who have depended on Tikkiyya since al-Rajabi’s work as a plumber dried up after the outbreak of war.
“I found no other alternative than going to Ibrahimiyya,” he said, adding that he had a wife and 11 children.
Fortunately, he says, “the Tikkyya helps people,” he and his family being one among many.
Hebron, he adds, is a “city where no one ever goes to bed hungry,” an adage about the city.
Boiling
The Tikkiyya team, determined not to let people like al-Rajabi down, is busy in the different parts of the building, taking care of administrative tasks, setting up the women’s and men’s dining areas, preparing the containers. that some families will take away. their food inside.
These families start queuing as early as 10 a.m., so the team starts working between 5:30 a.m. and 6 a.m., just after dawn prayers.
On the day of Tel Aviv Tribune’s visit, the menu consisted of chicken, soup and fresh bread. Different days bring different meals, depending on the seasons, availability and what was donated. Some days the team cooks beef, other days mutton and some days simpler dishes like beans or soup.
In the spacious kitchen, complete with huge pots and cooking utensils, the chefs are busy preparing everything they need for the day.
The teams are divided according to their tasks. Some set up the pots while others prepare the chicken and others light the stoves.
Ataya al-Jebrini, 56, one of Tikkiyya’s longest-serving employees, looks around happily and enjoys the activity.
He worked for 23 years, then decided to volunteer for free for the past nine years.
Despite the decades, al-Jebrini explained, the nature of his work has not changed significantly, with the same daily rhythm that resumes each morning at dawn and the frenetic activity that drives the team throughout. of the day.
Hazem Mujahid, Tikkiyya’s director, estimates that operating costs are around 35,000 shekels ($9,700), a figure expected to double as Ramadam approaches.
Responsibility for collecting this money falls to the head of the Tikkiyya Supervision and Support Committee, where Wissam al-Kurdi is responsible for maintaining the 745-year-old Tikkiyya mission.
He has already started looking for donors to keep the Tikkiyya alive in the days to come.
