The mall

Curiosity, and a bare pantry, finally got the best of me. I decided to go to Palestine’s only shopping mall. The Plaza Shopping Center is known among locals as “blaza mol.” I took a shared taxi to the mall from downtown for 35 cents. My first stop was the food court. Among the three options, Mac Chain Burgers seemed the most promising. I ordered a double cheese burger meal, which came without cheese, but the burger patties were surprisingly good. The restaurant’s slogan is “Best Burgers in Palestine.” I haven’t found burgers anywhere else, so that could be true. There were a few clothing stores near the food court; the only multi-national store was Benetton, which is French? I haven’t seen any U.S. companies here.

The anchor store of the mall is the Bravo Supermarket. I was hopeful that I might find pesto there, but did not. Instead, I bought two jars of American-made tomato-based pasta sauce. They sold Kroger-brand “pizza sauce” and “pasta sauce” there, as they do all over Palestine. It is not repackaged with Hebrew labeling, as most American brands are here; instead it’s imported directly by a Palestinian company, which slaps on a small white label in Arabic next to the Kroger label.

The store was large by Palestinian standards, but still smaller than an American supermarket. It included a deli with plenty of meats and cheeses and an assortment of local olives. I bought green olives and black olives. The cereal aisle was almost as extensive as an American store. My medium-sized box of Cheerios was $4. You pay more here than in Israel for most food imported from the United States or Europe, or for products such as milk made in Israel because Israel charges additional taxes to Palestinian importers.