Microbrewery received shitstorm for selling beer from West Bank
As if we did not know it: beer is political. Just ask Israeli craft brewers. Late last year, the non-kosher gastropub Libira in Haifa became the target of a shitstorm which threatened to drive away customers. Why? Because its owners had decided to sell beer of a Palestinian, West Bank-based brewery.
The Libira Brewpub was opened in 2007 by two Jewish expats, Erik Salarov, 44, from Tajikistan, and Leonid Lipkin, 56, from Ukraine. The two had started serving Shepherd’s beer, the second Palestinian craft beer ever made, sold in bottles featuring a herdsman standing underneath a star of Bethlehem.
Founded in 2015, Shepherd’s is brewed by Birzeit Brewery, located in Birzeit, a predominantly Christian town six miles north of Ramallah, which is the administrative capital of the Palestinian Authority government.
Libira decided to list three of Birzeit’s beers: an amber ale, a pilsner lager and a special edition Christmas ale.
According to Israeli media, when word spread that Libira was serving Palestinian beer in Haifa – a city with a large Arab population – nationalist Israelis began to bombard Libira’s Facebook page, smearing it with vitriol.
Reportedly, some commentators called for Jewish Israelis to boycott the 200-seat brewpub. Some said they would only return if the brewery stopped stocking the Palestinian beer. Others went further, claiming that Mr Salarov and Mr Lipkin were selling a “beer made from Jewish blood.” The pair was even called “traitors,” an accusation the Israeli far-right often levels at Israelis who seek coexistence with Arabs.
Most likely, all the mudslingers had never even visited Libira.
Mr Salarov pointed out that the beer is made by Christian Palestinians who face discrimination from both Jewish Israelis and Muslim Palestinians, and his decision to host the Palestinian beer was made without any political considerations.
“It’s a really good beer,” Mr Salarov was quoted as saying. “It was a Christmas ale, which we don’t have in our breweries in Israel. No politics at all. Just beer.”
The Libira brewery in Haifa has also stocked Taybeh beers from the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh, which must have gone unnoticed.
However, after the Hebrew-language press, particularly the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, reported Libira’s situation, the bar received a counter-wave of five-star ratings on Facebook.
While the long-term impact on Libira remains unclear, Mr Salarov reported that business has picked up in recent weeks because of the support. He has pledged that he will continue to stock Palestinian beers; even cutting their price so more customers can enjoy them.
