Gaza violence casts a pall on Eid celebrations

[hrmjustin]

Rachel Delia Benaim

JERUSALEM (RNS) In Beit ‘Anan, a small Arab village in the West Bank, Haya Dawod, and her extended family sit around a large round table in her parents’ dining room for the celebratory Eid meal.

Monday (July 28) marked the first day of Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that concludes the monthlong fast of Ramadan. Eid is usually a time of celebration — three days of celebration, to be exact.

But this year, the holiday mood in the Palestinian territories is distinctly less joyous and it shows in the Dawod’s buffet. The spread included roasted lamb, “maamoul,” a sweet flaky dessert filled with honey and nuts, and “fawakih,” a fruit platter with grapes, apples, and mangos.

“We usually have more food,” said Dawod, 21, “and more music and games, but because of what’s happening in Gaza we have less.”

http://www.religionnews.com/2014/07/28/usually-time-joy-eid-casts-pall-west-bank/