The Izz Cafe story: From Palestinian displacement to Cork culinary institution

A few years ago they were in direct provision. Today, they are celebrating five years of Izz Cafe — and have just cut the ribbon on a new extension. Joe McNamee hears Izz and Eman Alkarajeh’s extraordinary life story

Izz and Eman Alkarajeh at Izz Cafe, Cork, Picture Dan Linehan

After weeks of near-endless rain, a rare and intoxicating blast of sunshine is mirrored by the sparkling, sunny demeanour of the small crowd assembled to celebrate the fifth birthday of Izz and Eman Alkarajeh’s multi-award winning Izz Cafe, and cut the ribbon on a new extension.

But just as the rain will inevitably return the next day — and it does — the collective mood will also return to a darker place that has preoccupied all gathered here since last October, when the Hamas attack on Israel triggered what rapidly mutated into one of the most appalling and prolonged assaults on humanity in modern history: Israel’s uncompromising, genocidal war on Gaza, killing well over 34,000 Palestinians to date, mostly civilians, almost 70% women and children.