Stories that give hope - #9 -) Partners in Peace, and food

Date: July 18, 2005 at 11:52:15
From: VFP, [ool-18b96746.dyn.optonline.net]
Subject: Stories that give hope - #9 -) Partners in Peace, and food

Partners in Peace - And Food

Bill Brownstein *

Montreal - There are some who subscribe to the theory that if harmonious co-existence can be achieved within the powder keg that is a restaurant kitchen, then world peace is, well, a piece of cake. Jamil Amleh and Sasi Habeh are among those believers.

Amleh, 25, is a devout Palestinian Muslim. Habeh, 38, is a devout Israeli Jew. Incredible as it might seem to many, Amleh and Habeh have forged an inspirational peace thousands of miles away from their homeland. They co-own and co-operate the Mile End restaurant Jerusalem Steak House, which, naturally, specializes in Middle Eastern cuisine. Away from the kitchen, Amleh, who serves as maitre d' and sous-chef, and Habeh, who serves as master chef, are also best friends.

Interestingly, because the dietary laws for halal and kosher are similar on many levels - pork products, for example, are verboten for both - their meals meet the standards for Muslims and Jews. The partners have also made concessions to one another. Amleh doesn't object to alcohol being sold on the premises - despite the fact devout Muslims don't drink. Habeh doesn't object to keeping the restaurant open on Friday night and Saturday - despite the fact devout Jews are supposed to observe the Sabbath. As for Passover, Amleh has no problem with matzo being substituted for bread over the eight-day period.

The roots of their relationship go back six years to stormier times. Habeh was an Israeli soldier, patrolling an ever-volatile West Bank checkpoint. He heard a commotion. Another soldier and Amleh were arguing loudly. Habeh went over to try to defuse the situation. Amleh told Habeh the other soldier wouldn't let him go through, even though he was doing nothing wrong and had no record of any kind. Habeh felt that the soldier was unduly hassling Amleh. Habeh then went to their senior officer and got him to let Amleh pass.

"No big deal," recalls Habeh. "But it's minor flare-ups like this that can turn very bad quickly."

As he went through the checkpoint, a grateful Amleh asked Habeh for his phone number. Habeh, somewhat mystified, gave it to him. And so began their remarkable friendship.

"Sasi apologized to me for the incident," Amleh recounts. "He said it would be just so simple if people could learn to communicate verbally - without guns."

Not long after, Amleh moved with his parents and 11 siblings to Montreal. He and Habeh stayed in constant touch. He told Habeh he would love the laid-back ambience of Montreal - in spite of the cruel winter. Amleh then had the brainwave that the two could open an eatery together since Habeh had plenty of experience running restaurants in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

After planning for a year, Habeh immigrated here four months ago. Amleh put Habeh and his wife up at his family's Brossard home the first month. "My friends in Israel thought I was completely nuts to leave and to go into business with a Palestinian," says a grinning Habeh.

"And my friends, too, thought I was crazy, getting involved with an Israeli," says Amleh. "But we just want to show everyone that our two peoples can live together and work together. That's the way I had been brought up."

Habeh adds: "There are always extremists. But I'd like to think Jamil and I represent the majority opinion when it comes to wanting put down arms and co-exist. Jamil and I are more than friends. We are brothers."

A mural over the restaurant counter depicts both the Arab and Israeli parts of Jerusalem. Arabic and Israeli folk music waft throughout. Amleh often speaks to Habeh in Hebrew. Habeh often replies in Arabic.

Though open only a month, their quaint restaurant, a former pool hall, has attracted a steady clientele of Arabs and Jews, plus denizens of Mile End. "At first, customers seem so surprised about this partnership, but then they start thinking that it's really quite cool," Amleh says. "Still, there are few places in the world where this sort of partnership would be possible."

"We both pray every day that permanent peace will come to the Middle East," Habeh says. "It might sound simplistic, but if we can do it on this level, maybe there is hope. Some say good dialogue starts with good food, and our food is very similar."

The partners are putting in 16-hour days, seven days a week. "It will be worth it in the end," Amleh says. "Sasi has hands of gold when cooking. It comes from his soul. It will be especially tough for me during the fasting period of Ramadan. Maybe I'll get him to fast, too.

But enough talk, Habeh wants me to try his homemade hummus. I oblige. Now they would like my opinion on it. It is to die for, I tell them. They look at one another in a rather perplexed manner. It's dynamite, I rhapsodize. Again, they seem taken aback.

Then I realize in the context of the powder-keg that is the Middle East, these are probably not the most appropriate terms to describe food for folks not used to the North American lingo.

"So tell us how you like it?" they ask, almost in unison.

It's just delicious, I tell them.

They sigh, almost in unison, then break into broad smiles.

Jerusalem Steak House, 5295 Park Ave. Montreal, Quebec

Open daily from 11 a.m. to midnight

(514) 271-8400.

###
* Bill Brownstein writes for the Montreal Gazette

Source: Montreal Gazette, April 20, 2005.

Visit the Montreal Gazette Online at: www.montrealgazette.com

Distributed by the Common Ground News Service.

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