Palestinian singles find love through matchmaking service
Although a marriage matchmaking service is a novel idea for the traditional Palestinian society, a new center in Ramallah that matches couples has no problem finding clients.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — At Al-Amal Marriage Center, which opened in December 2016 in Ramallah, Amal Kokash Abu Hijleh spends eight hours a day in her office taking requests from men and women searching for a spouse.
Al-Amal Center is a marriage matchmaking service. Abu Hijleh, 45, matches couples by relying on her extensive social contacts, as she is the former mayor of Deir Istiya in Salfit governorate and a social worker. She has been a wedding videographer for 20 years.
Al-Monitor visited Al-Amal Center and met with Abu Hijleh, who explained why she opened the center. She said, ”Whenever I film weddings, women ask me to use my social network to find spouses for their sons, so I decided to start a matchmaking service. I also like helping older men find a spouse since their chances of meeting someone decreases with age.”
Traditional marriage (a marriage arranged by the parents without the couple having a prior relationship) is very common in the Palestinian territories.
