I absolutely have to tell you this curious and touching story: We unexpectedly ran into an old friend whom we had lost touch with for a whopping 33 years. His name is Mike. More precisely, in Israel he calls himself Mike, at home he is called Mohammed. When my wife Anat worked as a student at the Jerusalem Chinese restaurant “Mandi Tachi” after her army service, Mike was her boss. That’s how I met the Muslim from Bethlehem. Whenever I stopped by Anat’s, I always got something to try for free. We became friends and in 1990 Mike was our wedding guest. Two years later, he gave up his job in Jerusalem because it was becoming increasingly difficult for Palestinians to get into the city via the checkpoints.

And now guess where we met Mike again! In Bethlehem, in the Chinese restaurant Tachi, about 300 meters from the Bethlehem Checkpoint. In front of his restaurant rises the high wall that surrounds Rachel’s Tomb. Instead of the view of Bethlehem, you only see graffiti. But if you’re hungry, you don’t care....

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