Page 19 - Nachlaot Very Advanced RA1 130918
P. 19
Very Advanced Level – רמה מתקדמת מאד
Shalom Felafel
Shalom Washdi was born in 1906 in Sanaa, Yemen. In 1935 Shalom decided to
immigrate to Israel. After many hardships he succeeded in arriving with only his
mother. All the other members of his family had stayed in Yemen.
Shalom and his wife became the figurative patriarch and matriarch of the Yemenite
community in the neighborhood. One day Shalom was working for an important
and respected man and, while working, told the man about his family that had
stayed behind in Yemen. The man, who had contacts at the highest level of the
British Mandatory Authority, succeeded in arranging entry permits for Shalom's
family. In this way, all of Shalom's family made Aliyah, except his grandfather
who died during the arduous journey.
At that time, the economic situation in Israel was very difficult and Shalom was
forced to support everyone in his family. He decided to sell falafel. At first, he sold
from a large cart that he wheeled around the neighborhood shouting, "Falafel,
falafel."
The British soldiers who were serving in the area used to spend their spare time
drinking alcoholic beverages. When they were drunk, ad they would see Shalom
with his cart, they would grab it, and send it downhill on the street toward Gan
Sachar. They did this all in fun but, of course, Shalom was unable to resist. One
day, Avrahan Vadai z"l, (of blessed memory), who was one of the prominent people
in the community, suggested to Shalom that he buy the storage shed under the
synagogue on the street. Shalom bought the place and opened a falafel stand there.
The stand became popular and many Jerusalemites came there to buy falafel.
Before the War of Independence, men of the Stern gang were active there. They set
themselves up in the women's section of the synagogue. From there they taught the
use of weapons under the pretense of Torah lessons. When the fighters became
concerned that the British might hear them, they sent one of the children to Shalom
to ask him to increase the fire in the Primus (the gas burner under the deep fryer).
During the siege of Jerusalem, Shalom distributed his stock of chick peas and flour
to the locals for free.
The small store "Shalom Falafel" attracts people from all walks of life. To this day,
the question: "With or without hot sauce?" is familiar to everyone.
Today Shalom Falafel has a chain of stores. The small, original stand is on Bezalel
Street.
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