Gaza's ice cream industry melts

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Ice cream is a popular treat for Gazans, who are suffering from the emotional stress of the deteriorating political and economic situation, especially since 2007, and who are facing another summer with intense heat. They consume locally produced ice cream at ice cream parlors or eat factory-produced ice cream sold in grocery stores across the Gaza Strip.

Kazem's ice cream parlor in the heart of Gaza City has borne witness over the last 65 years to the Palestinian heritage of locally produced Arabic- and Western-style ice cream.

Hajj Abu Kazem Abu Shaaban told Al-Monitor the story of Kazem's ice cream parlor, which his father, Kazem Abu Shaaban, established in 1950 and developed into a distinctive commercial brand thanks to its recipes that have enchanted Gazans. Regardless of their social status, residents from all over Gaza flock to the shop where the elder Kazem worked hard to develop the ice cream production industry until his death in December 2010.

“My father began producing ice cream at his grocery store in 1950, where it was prepared manually," said Abu Shaaban, who inherited the ice cream parlor from his father. "He subsequently installed primitive plastic cooling tubs, until the business gradually evolved and we began, almost 20 years ago, to use Italian-made machines that produce ice cream. [We would like to think of the ice cream parlor as] belonging to all Gazans. It is comprised of two floors: the ground floor that houses simple items, affordable to all, irrespective of their financial means, and where prices range from 1 to 2 shekels [25 to 50 cents]; and the second floor where the Ice Cafe is located. Here various types of ice cream are sold to the middle and upper classes. The second floor overlooks the most lively street in Gaza and the cafe offers types of ice cream that are not available on the first floor.”