Nabil Khreim, who works as a shoe and bag repairman, fears that the cobbler profession will disappear, as the number of workers in the Old City of Jerusalem has decreased from about 30 to less than 3.

This comes mainly against the backdrop of young people’s reluctance to engage in this profession, in addition to the worsening economic recession resulting from the occupation’s measures in occupied Jerusalem.

The oldest cobbler in Jerusalem

While the seventy-year-old is still busy repairing and reinforcing shoes in his modest shop in the Attarin Market, Khuraim is considered the oldest cobbler in Old Jerusalem, having practiced this craft for 55 years after learning it from his father.

Khuraim told Al-Arabi: “Our craft must continue, but this is difficult, especially since more than 30 years ago there were about 30 cobblers in the old town, while today their number does not exceed 3 or 4.”

struggle for survival

The Jerusalemite cobbler does his work with antique machines that are up to 80 years old, and he preserves them after inheriting them from his father and grandfather. One of his customers who has been visiting his shop for decades says: The cobbler’s profession serves the rich as well as the poor.

“We must continue working despite our old age, first to prove ourselves in the country by maintaining our shops and passing them on to our children, as it is also a source of livelihood for us,” Khuraim added.

The economic recession resulting from the siege of Jerusalem with checkpoints and the racist wall has led to the closure of about 1,400 shops in the Old City since the occupation of the eastern part of Jerusalem in 1967 until today.

This reality has made merchants struggle to keep their shops open. The steadfastness of Jerusalemites in their shops not only preserves their heritage and the survival of their professions and crafts, but also helps preserve the entire Palestinian presence in the occupied city.