In 2001, a Druze Israel Defense Forces reservist, Marcel, and his infantry unit were on what they imagined would be a routine patrol of their area of operation. Unfortunately, Palestinian terrorists ambushed them. A bullet fragment or piece of shrapnel penetrated Marcel’s skull, and he fell into a coma for 13 years before passing away.
Marcel never got to hold his son, Noor, who was born four months after the attack. His widow, Basma Hino, was left to raise their baby and provide for them. This is where the story takes an unexpected turn.
In the Druze community of northern Israel, it is extremely rare for widows to remain unmarried, and even more rare to find an unmarried widow who is also an entrepreneur and restaurateur.
Yet an entrepreneur and restaurateur are exactly what Basma became as she took her love of cooking and food and opened a small coffee shop in the Druze town of Julis. The endeavor was met with mixed reactions by the sheikhs and the community leadership. Again, this was not the norm, an absolute anomaly in fact, and one they weren’t quite sure about. But Basma was not cowed by the opposition to her business, and, over time and through great sacrifice, she became a success.
Ultimately, she would close the coffee house and open a restaurant named after her son, Noor. Noor means “light” in Arabic, and Basma saw her restaurant, like her son, as a beacon of light to her community.
And a beacon of light it has become.
Immediately following the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Basma sought to help her fallen husband’s former unit, which was activated immediately following the attacks. So, she reached out to the unit’s commander and offered to cook for his soldiers. He accepted and excitedly commissioned 450 meals.
When delivering the food, she watched as many of the soldiers enjoyed their meals, but she also noticed a group of soldiers abstaining from the feast. She asked the commander why, and he explained that these men were observant, Jewish soldiers who kept kosher. Since her restaurant was not kosher certified, they could not eat.
In that moment, Basma made several critical decisions: She was going to continue cooking for soldiers at her own expense and expand her efforts to other units, and she was going to figure out how to make her restaurant kosher, so all the IDF soldiers could eat her food.
Within a matter of weeks, Basma had lined up kosher-food suppliers, bought all new tableware, hired two Jewish cooks and secured kosher certification, making “Noor” the first and only kosher Druze restaurant in Israel. Now, almost two years into the war, Basma and her team, aided in part by foreign donations and volunteers, as well as the support of the Western Galilee Small Business Consortium, have prepared thousands of meals for IDF soldiers fighting to defend Israel.
Last month, I, along with 25 other Jewish educators from around the United States, all a part of the Jewish National Fund-USA and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund’s Global Educators’ Mission to Israel, had the honor of meeting Basma in her restaurant. We were moved by her story of loss and resilience, and inspired by her efforts. After hearing her story, we helped Basma cook approximately 200 meals for IDF soldiers currently serving and protecting our homeland. This experience was transformational for all of us, and it gave us insight into the power that one person can have to create positive change.
When Basma realized that those soldiers who kept kosher would not be able to eat her food, she could easily have resigned herself to feeding only those soldiers who would; instead, she was determined to serve all soldiers and went to considerable effort to make this a reality. In so doing, she has provided nutritious, home-cooked meals to thousands of soldiers, and in most cases, has done this at her own expense.
These meals provide more than just warm food in the bellies of soldiers who have been serving under the harshest of conditions. The food is a reminder that the country has not forgotten them, and that the entire country loves, appreciates and supports them. These meals offer that feeling of home, the love and warm embrace that food served in other capacities just simply does not.
For her efforts, Basma was honored as a true hero of the State of Israel this past Israel Independence Day with the lighting of one of the torches at the official Independence Day celebration. She took her pain and loss and transformed them into acts of lovingkindness that have positively impacted thousands. Those of us on the North American educators’ mission are proud to count ourselves among those thousands.
By Michael Mashbaum, senior educator with Club Z.
