Bilal Abu Khalaf, known in Jerusalem as the "Man of Fabrics," joined his family's textile business over 40 years ago. He owns a fabric shop located just steps from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City, directly across from the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer on Aftimos Street. Marie-Louise Weissenböck, chairwoman of Christians Standing with Israel Austria, visited Bilal with a tour group.
By Marie-Louise Weissenböck
As we enter his shop, he immediately sets down a fragrant Arabic coffee and makes room for our group. “Welcome, how wonderful that you’ve come to Jerusalem. Where are you from?” he asks with a cheerful and charming smile. Since October 2023, Aftimos Street—a street usually bustling with tourists and pilgrims—has become very quiet. Clearly, Bilal is used to meeting people from all over the world. Articles with his photos are displayed in the shop window. He is wearing his usual attire: a striped white robe (jallabiyya), a silk scarf around his waist, and a red hat (fez) on his head.
Bilal was born in 1961 in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan and currently lives in Beit Hanina. He is happily married and has five children and ten grandchildren. His family originally came from Hebron and moved to Jerusalem in the late 1930s. They are Muslim and their roots trace back to the Ayyubid dynasty of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi.
On his business card, Bilal describes himself as a "dealer of all kinds of oriental fabrics," including damask silk, brocade, velvet tablecloths, curtains, and furnishings. When asked how he would describe his textiles and fabrics, Bilal's face lights up. He speaks of these items almost as if they were precious living beings with their own unique personalities.
Before showing us his fabrics, he points out the floor of his shop, beneath which lie the remains of the 11th-century church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Bilal is clearly fascinated by Jerusalem's history and greatly appreciates that his shop is located within the walls of the Old City. He is determined to keep this location. "Abu Khalaf" is a well-known brand in Jerusalem, as the family owns several shops throughout the city. "There's a saying," he tells us, "that says there are 100 blessings in the world, and 99 of them are found in Jerusalem. Only one remains to wander the rest of the world. There is no city like Jerusalem."
From the consulate to the fabric store
Bilal says he has always been fascinated by fabrics. As a child, he attended al-Mutran School (St. George's School) in East Jerusalem and later earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Ain Shams University in Cairo. He had a full-time position at the French consulate in Jerusalem, but it only took him a little over a month to quit and join his father's fabric business—a trade his family has been in for generations.
“It gave me immense pleasure to pursue a career in this field and learn everything about cotton, linen, and fabric production in general,” he says. Between 1982 and 1983, he completed a six-month spinning course in Jordan. Afterward, he attended a clothing fair in Syria. “I import fabrics from Syria, India, and Morocco,” he says enthusiastically.
Different religion, different fabrics
Given Jerusalem's three monotheistic religions, the business has become important for religious representatives of all three faiths: Christian priests (both Catholic and otherwise), bishops, and cardinals buy fabrics from Bilal, as do Jewish rabbis and Muslim imams. Diplomats, ambassadors, set designers, and members of high society have also purchased goods from the "fabric man," as have pilgrims, tourists, and passersby from all walks of life.
The patriarch Abraham liked to wear white with stripes, Bilal explains. To this day, the Samaritans and the elders of Jerusalem have maintained this dress code as their everyday attire. Ultra-Orthodox Jews, he describes, often wear striped kaftans. They adhere to the Jewish dress code of kashrut, which forbids them from wearing garments made of wool and linen together. Clothing—whether silk, cotton, or wool—must be made of natural materials and may not be mixed and matched. Therefore, Bilal's shop and its all-natural products are perfectly tailored to these needs.
Christian priests, on the other hand, often wear black, although ceremonies and festivities require different attire. According to Bilal, Catholic priests wear red at Christmas, purple at Easter, green during Lent, and white on Sundays and for baptisms. On this subject, Bilal likes to recount how, during his visit to Jerusalem in 2000, Pope John Paul II personally had his aides visit "the shop in Jerusalem known for its finest fabrics." There, they purchased a special white silk embroidered with nine-karat gold. This fabric, bought in Jerusalem, was later made into a vestment for the Pope at the Vatican.
Fabrics as cultural heritage
In some cases, the fabrics feature images that could almost serve as history lessons. During our visit, Bilal selects an example of a soft silk fabric depicting war scenes: “These are the warriors of Saladin al-Din al-Ayyubi on horseback during the Crusader conquest of Jerusalem,” he explains. This refers to the Battle of Hittin in 1187. The fabrics displayed here, embellished with gold and sometimes silk on silk, are examples of Islamic culture, as some of the designs were created shortly after the victory to celebrate Arab and Islamic achievements, he explains.
“Syria has the best fabrics; they are woven exclusively by hand,” he emphasizes. “They use silk on silk and are masters at incorporating gold threads.” Tadmor (Palmyra) in Syria is particularly known for its exceptional fabrics and sophisticated clothing. “They are very skilled in working with fabrics and in hand spinning,” Bilal adds. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to visit Syria since 2014. “We are going through difficult times,” he says. But there have always been such times, and he knows that there is always hope on the horizon.
