Entering the bustling and vibrant Mahaneh Yehuda market is akin to gaining entry to a secret portal to the cultural diversity that is Jerusalem.
For both local Israelis and tourists from around the globe, the shuk is a quintessential Jerusalem experience. Tourist numbers have been drastically reduced due to the global pandemic that still hasn’t ended and their absence has been felt by shop owners, but with Israel recently reducing pandemic restrictions, life in the shuk is slowly coming back and the market is getting back on its feet.
“The beginning of corona was awful,” Yosef from the shuk’s Mizrahi Market relates, “but after a month, it was good again because we had a lot of deliveries and online orders. My daughter made a website that customers started using during COVID and we also use Instagram.”
Sam from Levy Brothers Pure Spices says, “About 70% of the shops in the shuk do deliveries on the phone. Some of the shops closed and took stimulus checks for unemployment from the government.”
Using social media to boost business is no foreign concept to Yotan Vilner, who works at his family’s store: The Olam Umlo’oh Spice Shop. For months, Yotan said he would typically see only a few people walking through the shuk on any given day.
“We had to make money somehow so we started promoting our shop on Facebook. We shipped our spices all over the country to customers ordering through our social media,” he said.
The proliferation of deliveries for shuk business owners was a lifesaver throughout the pandemic.
“We began phoning customers whose numbers we had,” Sam recounts. “They know our spices so they would order on the phone and we would send them everything.”
Craft Pizza owner David Kaplan echoed the same sentiments, saying that for over a year his pizza parlor survived by phone orders and deliveries.
“We finally stopped our delivery service two months ago and I have slowly seen more of our regular customers come back in,” he said.
UNFORTUNATELY, NOT every shop in the shuk is still open for business. The growing number of locals returning to the shuk spot a slew of “For Sale” and “For Rent” signs, reflecting the pandemic’s profound impact on small businesses and the continued absence of revenue from tourists. Yet customers could be seen eating both indoors and outdoors, a clear sign that post-pandemic life is at least partially back.
The anticipated return of tourists this summer is cause for hope for these eager business owners.
“It’s coming back,” Sam believes, “but we need to wait for the tourists to come again. 70% of my customers are from outside the country. The Israelis that live here have already come back. Now we are waiting for the tourists to arrive because tourism is critical. Jerusalem depends on it.”
Yotan says that although he is looking forward to business going back to normal, he is “most excited for the international people to come back and experience Israel. They bring the special vibe to the shuk. It’s not just about making money.”
Before the pandemic, the shuk was flooded with tourists from around the globe, coming to see the magic of the market with their own eyes. Although the shuk is currently lacking international tourism, a few Israeli tourists were spotted in their matching bright pink group shirts with a guide expounding on the history of the shuk and what each shop has to offer. Hopefully, this small sampling of domestic tourism foreshadows the coming months for international tourism.
The outlook is optimistic as the country prepares to reopen its borders for tourists in the coming weeks. One customer, Penny, remarked on the more upbeat vibe of the market saying, “It’s picked up, I feel like there are more Israeli tourist groups here now and it’s nice to see lots of people around.”
University student Miriam shared Penny’s sentiments and said she is happy to be able to come back to the shuk to her favorite restaurants after having had to do delivery service during the lockdown.
“The best hummus, tahini and empanadas are here,” Miriam said.
With the shuk preparing to regain its full footing after the hiatus, there has never been a better time for both tourists and locals looking to visit it to experience the true essence of Jerusalem culture.