The fishermen of Jaffa: Fear replaces harmony amid Israel-Gaza war | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Jaffa, Israel – Johny Saba, an amiable 58-year-old fisherman, longs for all times within the historical Mediterranean port to return to the way it was earlier than the battle.

He hoists his younger youngster up into his arms as a colleague repairs a rickety picket fishing boat within the stillness of the night.

The shipyard is calm; solely a handful of individuals come and go. Behind Johny, a tattooed, stocky, bald fisherman fixes a tangled fishing web underneath a tarpaulin sheet; he listens to no music; as a substitute, freed from distractions, he stays misplaced in his ideas as he methodically threads the meshed material by his arms.

“Earlier than the battle, there was no drawback right here; Jews and Arabs may work collectively,” Johny says earlier than letting out a sigh.

On the weekends, he says, hundreds of individuals would come to purchase contemporary fish from native household companies that had usually existed for generations.

He paints an image of a neighborhood of fishermen – Muslims, Jews and Christians co-existing, working alongside the sun-drenched Mediterranean coast, sure collectively by the toil and expertise of their commerce moderately than separated from each other by the tensions and divisions that existed between their communities.

“Right here we’re all like brothers; If in all places was like Jaffa, it might be paradise,” he displays.