After the Israeli occupation of Jerusalem in 1948, and then again in 1967, the production of hand-made goods has been slowed dramatically due to the lack of manpower. Many of the shops that had once existed in Jerusalem either closed, moved to another city or abandoned the entire enterprise because of lack of adequate funding.^[1]Nevertheless, some products remained in the city and shaped its economic and cultural sphere. The Armenian ceramic is one of such products.

The Origins:

Although Palestinians had been using ceramics for centuries,  ^[2] ceramic work had been brought to Jerusalem by Armenians at the beginning of the nineteenth century, at the time of the British Mandate.^[3]The story started in 1919 when the British High Delegate Mr. Stores brought three Armenian families to Jerusalem to renovate the walls of all of the Al-Aqsa Mosques: the Dome of the Rock and Al-Qibli. The families who migrated originally from the city of Kutahya, an Armenian city famous for its ceramic work, liked the city of Jerusalem and decided to stay..^[4]Those families founded a ceramic factory in 1922 and called it “The Dome of the Rock Ceramics”. ^[5]

Currently there are five families who do ceramic work in Jerusalem. Some of them have shops in the Old City to market their products to tourists and visitors.^[6]

Process

The ceramic piece is formed in a specific shape, whether it be a dish, bowl or cup. Then the piece is baked in a special over at a high temperature. Finally, it is painted.^[7] A piece needs ten days to be completed.^[8]

^{Jerusalem’s ceramic work and style departed from the traditional Turkish style of geometric forms and plants. Mirroring the Palestinian landscape and environment, the new ceramic work often depicted animals as well.[9]} Armenian families kept the traditional Armenian style of flowers that symbolizes eternal life.^[10]

Use:

Ceramic pieces have been used for thousands of years, whether it was to create dishes and furniture or to decorate religious centers. Ceramic work has long narrated the stories of nations and different cultures.^[11] Similarly, Jerusalem’s ceramic preserves Palestinian identity and traditions.
Currently, ceramic products are being sold in gift shops in the Old City of Jerusalem. Tourists are not the only ones who purchase the ceramics, however. Many local organizations, restaurants and community centers purchase these products to uphold Palestinian culture .^[12]

Economically

There are 25 ceramic factories that employ a total of 100 people. Of the products, 30% are marketed locally, 30% are marketed in Occupied Palestine 1948, 20% are exported to the Arab world, while the remaining 20% are exported to the US and Europe.^[13]

Challenges

Hand-made ceramic is costly and takes a great deal of time to make. This exposed the Armenian market of ceramics to fierce competition from lower quality and lower priced Turkish and Chinese ceramics. Because of the cheaper products, many of the shops in the Old City prefer the Turkish or Chinese pieces.^[14] 

The Armenian ceramics also face fierce competition from the Israeli market and from factory-made glass, which costs less to make more.^[15]Nevertheless, some tourists would still pay more for a unique hand-made ceramic that symbolizes Jerusalem and narrates its sacred and cultural story.

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History and Location

Cotton Merchants’ Market, known in Arabic as Souq Al-Qattanin, is located within the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. It starts with the Valley Road, one of the main streets in the Old City, and leads directly to the Aqsa Plaza.^[1]

The market was built in different historical eras, as some archeological excavations show that it was active in the Crusaders’ era, while others show that the market was built in the Islamic Mamluk era. Some excavations even date it back to the Fatimid period in Jerusalem. ^[2]It is believed, therefore, that the market in its current shape dates back to 1329, when Damascus Prince Tankiz Nasser ordered for its establishment during the reign of Mamluk Sultan Mohammed bin Qalawun. .^[3]

Architecture

The market, which looks similar to Damascus markets, is considered the most beautiful market in Jerusalem. The construction of it took 7 years and resulted in an architectural masterpiece. Its eastern entrance is one of Al-Aqsa Gates with a height of 6 meters and unique decoration.^[4]Creswell, Islamic architecture expert, considers it the most beautiful market in the Levant.^[5]

With a length of 95 meters,^[6]the market has between 50 to 60 shops. Each shop has a second floor which was used to house religious figures in the city. Currently, the rooms are owned by the Islamic Endowment in the city and manned by Jerusalemite families.^[7]

In the fifteenth century, an earthquake destroyed the upper level of some of the market and. as a result, that area has not been used since .^[8]

^{Origins of the Name}

^{The current name of the market, the Cotton Merchants’ Market, was used during the Ottoman Empire era. The name is derived from the famous Egyptian cotton that was manufactured in its shops and then exported worldwide.[9]} Currently, the market is known for the sales of diverse products, with a focus on souvenirs for tourists and visitors.^[10]

The market is also called the Dark Market (Souq Al-Atem) due to its weak lighting, as sunlight can only enter from six openings in the ceiling.^[11]

Famous Landmarks

The market has, in addition to its shops and rooms, a motel and two famous baths: Al-Shifaa, and Al-Ain.^[12] The motel was used to host merchants coming from Egypt and Syria in the olden days. Currently, it hosts the Center for Jerusalem Studies associated with Jerusalem University.^[13]The two baths, on the other hand, played a key role in the Jerusalemite history and traditions, where the Arab grooms used to be celebrated before the revelers head to Al-Aqsa Mosque to pray .^[14] Unfortunately, both baths are currently closed. ^[15]

Israeli Policy

Israeli forces in Jerusalem have caused the market to recess due to its policies. In addition to the permanent blockade in the middle of the market where the Israeli forces do not allow tourists and visitors to go beyond, Israeli police often block the eastern entrance of the market, which is also a gate of Al-Aqsa, causing worshippers to use other entrances, avoiding the market in the process.^[16] This happens regularly on a monthly basis when settlers march to Al-Aqsa to pray and use the gate which they call “the Temple Gate” to enter. During these times, Israeli police forces mandate that the merchants close their shops.^[17] Sometimes, however, these occurrences are unscheduled and unplanned and occur often on an irregular basis. As a result, there is great economic disparity, as some merchants make no more than $1.13 a day .^[18]

^{Permanently, Jewish settlers have taken over two of the upper rooms of the market from the northern side and many Palestinian houses next to the market from the southern side.[19]} To hasten the cleansing of merchants from the city, harsh taxes and fees are imposed upon the merchants that remain in the marketplace.^[20]

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Jerusalem’s economy has been deteriorating in a way that seriously threatens the existence of Palestinians in the city. Many policies implemented by the Israeli state hinder Palestinian growth and prosperity in the eastern part of the city.^[1]

The Palestinian economy in occupied Jerusalem is affected by three main phenomena:

• Annexation:, in which Jerusalemite economy is directly affected by Israeli institutions and furthers the interests of Israeli jews through discriminatory policies that target Palestinian development and economy in the city.
• Isolation: The economic, political and social isolation from surrounding Palestinian areas and the surrounding of the Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem with the Apartheid wall.
• Disintegration where the economy has been fragmented and the power of growth and movement has been removed and social and demographic influences have declined.^[2]

Economic Map of East Jerusalem

The economic map of occupied Jerusalem consists of six main sectors: transportation, business, tourism, industry and crafts, labor, and investment. The map is divided into five neighborhoods: the Old City, Salah al-Din Street, the remaining areas in the center of East Jerusalem, the neighborhoods of southern Jerusalem, and the neighborhoods of Shuafat and Beit Hanina in the north of Jerusalem.^[3]

These five neighborhoods suffer from some shared economic problems: depends on the Israeli labor market as a main source of income, a lack of female participation, weak economic productivity due to Scarcity of resources and raw materials , the expansion of settlements which swallows the land, strangles the city’s ports and controls its markets and products , isolation from the West Bank, and the decline of tourism, which further weakens of the consumer base, as well as high taxation.^[4]

The Income Gap between East Jerusalem and West Jerusalem

Eastern Jerusalemites, the majority of whom are palestinian arabs, have much lower incomes than do inhabitants of West Jerusalem for a number of factors: ^[5]

• The Israeli curfew policy imposed on Jerusalem means the continuous closure of Jerusalem and its isolation from its main income source— Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
• Prohibition of large scale economic activity among Palestinians under the guise of fear of political activity..

The reduction of tourism revenues in East Jerusalem and the redirecting of it to the western part of the city with a Jewish majority.

• The amalgamation of Arnona taxes on Palestinians in the city have caused many shops and hotels to shut down–especially since most potential customers would have come from other parts of Palestine which are closed off at curfew or by the Apartheid Wall.

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For many centuries, the candle industry in Jerusalem has flourished, particularly because of the religious nature of the city and the demand for candles in churches and monasteries for different religious and social events. More traditional designs have been supplemented by new shapes and sizes and decorated with geometric, vegetative and religious designs. They are painted in various colors, but gold is the most often used. These candles are not only popular on a local level however, and man pilgrims take candles back home with them..^[1]

Candles in Jerusalem are greasy (made of sheep fat) or hazel (made of hives) or a mixture of the both.^[2] There are specific Jerusalemite families that became famous for their production of candles across multiple generations and some of them have even become known by that trade and have taken on the surname Shamma’a (candle producer).^[3]

Although the demand for candles increases when there is a funeral or during wedding seasons and religious celebrations, production as a whole has decreased lately due to the following reasons:^[4]

• Narrow external marketing outlets
• Lack of good production and packaging and exposure to stiff competition
• High tax rates on Palestinian products and an income tax of up to 25%.

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Israel un/officially promotes a policy of human judaization in Jerusalem continuously creating new forms of pressure to push Palestinians to migrate from the city and encourage the presence of a Jewish majority. One such example is the Tax of Arnona, an excise tax imposed on property-owning Palestinians in the city.

After Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, the state imposed this municipal property tax, ^[2]which forces Palestinian merchants in East Jerusalem to pay 280 shekels per square meter of property owned annually and residents to pay anywhere from 50 to 120 shekels per square meter of their area of residence.^[3]

The Arnona Tax is considered to be the biggest threat to Palestinian residents of occupied Jerusalem,^[4]. and according to a study conducted by the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights, the Arnona tax is also discriminatory and unjust for a number of reasons including:^[5]ts legal basists criteria of collection, the level of taxation, the implementation of its regulations, the resultant imposed on those who are unable to meet its requirements, and the ; services offered to Palestinians in return to paying Arnona.

Types of Arnona:

The Arnona tax affects two primary properties, residential properties and business properties.:^[6]

1. Residential Taxes:

The tax on residential properties depends on many factors none of which include the level of income. Residential taxes vary and are usually determined on the location of the neighborhood, the size and area of the residency, as well as the quality of construction and current state of the dwelling.

This tax often exceeds low income of Arab families and reach record highs in East Jerusalem particularly since larger homes were often designed that way not for luxury but to accommodate large families and extended family members.

2. Business Taxes:

Taxes on businesses also are based on the size of the commercial property owned and not the amount of commercial activity it brings or the income it provides..

The Effects of the Arnona tax on Palestinian Existence in Jerusalem

This tax threatens Palestinian existence in Jerusalem because many palestinians cannot pay the exorbitant tax and are often forced to close their shops and their means of income, which in turn means they cannot afford to maintain a living in the city or pay the taxes imposed on their homes–effectively pushing them and their families out of the city. .^[7]

70% of Palestinian residents in Jerusalem live below the poverty line^[8] as 70-80% of Palestinian Jerusalemites owe the Israeli Municipality unpaid Arnona taxes. The municipality files cases against them and imposes punitive measures that vary from more fines to the seizure of property and even imprisonment. In some cases, the business property or real estate belonging to Palestinians who are unable to pay the Arnona tax are sold in auctions that favor Jewish settlers and which result in the replacement of Arabs by Jews in the city..^[9]

Only 12% of the Arnona tax money benefits Palestinians in East Jerusalem in the form of services^[10] while the rest is given to new settlers to help build and open businesses in Jerusalem and around it.^[11]

Palestinians are essentially forced to raise money for the settlers who will almost inevitably seize their properties. By 2000, 250 shops of 1000 shops in the old city had to shut down due to the accumulation of Arnona taxes that went unpaid and which, along with other taxes on the properties, had reached$8500 per 100 meters of business property in East Jerusalem. By 1990, the average Arnona tax average per Palestinian had reached $20,000. To the present day, the Palestinian business sector in the city owes the Israeli municipality 1,500,000 shekels, or approximately half a million dollars in Arnona taxes.^[12] Of course, this not only weakens the Palestinian economy in the city–it also encourages Palestinian migration from the city in favor of settler expansion in no subtle way.

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One of the most prominent landmarks of Jerusalem is its market. Most of the Old City’s shops are adjacent to the plaza of the al-Aqsa mosque.  The market and its various shops were established and expanded during different Islamic eras and remained until the Israeli occupation of the east side of city in 1967, when some of the shops were obliterated and replaced by the Jewish neighborhood.^[1]

The old city market is made up of  narrow streets and shops lining both sides of each street.. Some of the city’s residents live on top of the shops in apartments with dome ceilings.. The different sections of the market are split according to the products that are sold there. Because each group of shops in the same vicinity sell similar products, each section is named after the products that are sold in that section (Ie. the Spices Market, the Butchers’ Market, the Cotton Market, the Oil Market).^[2]

Suq al-Attarin

Suq al-Attarin is one of the oldest markets within the walls of the old city of Jerusalem, and features shops that sell spices and perfumes. It is located between the Oil Market and the Mats Market. The roofed alley over the cardo located inside the Muslim quarter in the old city liess parallel to Butchers’ Market (Suq al-Lahhamin) and Jewelry’ Market (Suq al-Khawajat). These three markets are often identified together as the Three Markets.^[3] 

Suq Al-Attarin has a vaulted roof covering the entire market and dates back to the Mamluk period, when its shopkeepers began  selling spices and medicinal herbs. The smell of incense and spices give it a unique charm. The market is covered with intermittently built domes, that allow for adequate ventilation and sunlight.The market used to be feature primarily Arab and Eastern spices, but now there are only three shops dedicated to perfumery, while the rest are varied.^[4] 

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