Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly collection wherein NPR’s worldwide workforce shares moments from their lives and work around the globe.
Many individuals might even see international reporting as glamorous, however a whole lot of the time it is fairly lonely. So I used to be fortunate to search out Salon Jaffa within the Jaffa flea market whereas on project in Israel.
Inbal Blech, an Israeli Jew, owns the salon on this historic port city with a blended inhabitants that is a part of higher Tel Aviv. A 48-year-old girl with darkish hair and a raucous chortle, she holds court docket on a bench simply exterior her salon, rolling cigarettes, ingesting espresso and welcoming a gentle rotation of individuals — primarily ladies — who sit and have a chat. Generally they go in for a manicure or a wax, typically they only come to go to.
I turned a kind of folks. Once I wanted a break from the heaviness of masking the information, I might go and sit by her and the opposite technicians. On a latest day, I joined Inbal sitting with nail technician Mayan Shany and snapped this photograph.
Tensions between Palestinians and Jews after Oct. 7, 2023, reached an all-time excessive in Israel, however at Salon Jaffa, folks from each communities really feel protected and guarded by Inbal. Palestinian and Jewish ladies come to change tales and gossip, and for only a few hours a day, you’ll be able to see what this place might actually be.
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