Despite the fact that pottery has vanished in many parts of the world it still maintains its presence in Jaba’ town located between the cities of Nablus and Jenin in the West Bank where a Palestinian family still sticks to the profession and hands it down from one generation to the next.
In a modest house in the center of Jaba’ the father the children and the grandchildren of al-Fakhouri family practice this traditional profession attracting local and foreign journalists to this unique antique place.
The Fakhouri family has been in this business in their small shop since 1936. Visitors can notice that the house has not been renovated for years. The tree trunks wood old stones planted in the house point to the long history of the house and the profession it embrace.
The Palestinian family refuses to give up the house despite being old small and humble and insist on preserving it considering it a valuable heritage.
Jamal al-Fakhouri one of the workers in the shop said that pottery is an ancient and inherited craft that his family kept maintaining for the past 300 years to make the profession survive and prosper in the country.
He added that there is still a demand for pottery yet the situation changed since in the old days it was used for daily household uses but nowadays it is used for decoration such as vases.
The researcher Khalid Tamim said that pottery making is a Palestinian industry par excellence and it should be preserved since it represents the Palestinian civilization.
