Nablus Governor Ghassan Daghlas ordered the newly opened Cafe Omsiat to close for one week after controversy over its Halloween-themed event last week, according to Palestinian and Arab media reports.
According to the independent Palestinian SWA News Agency, Daghlas established an investigative committee to look into the cafe and ordered its temporary closure to preserve public peace.
After photos of party-goers in costumes circulated on social media, activists and prominent Palestinian figures called for punitive measures against the cafe.
Ma’an News Agency published an article on Monday by Dr. Ahmad Rafiq Awad, a founding figure in Palestinian radio and television and a member of the Council of Palestinian Culture, in which he called the event “reprehensible” and argued that it ran counter to Palestinian social and cultural values.
“We simply do not celebrate ghosts, nor their return, nor play with them, nor even acknowledge or respect them. Halloween has no connection to us, not in the slightest. Nothing in our history, culture, traditions, or lives makes this occasion part of our collective memory or consciousness,” he said.
Palestinian leader complains about Black Friday, Valentine’s Day
Awad also complained that occasions such as Black Friday, Valentine’s Day, and other similar celebrations were increasingly making their way into Palestinian life.
“The problem is not a mask worn by a young man or woman, nor a party held inside a restaurant, but rather the meaning behind these scenes, and the growing distance between us and our reality, our identity, and our big questions,” he wrote.
Although he acknowledged that young Palestinians should not be expected to live in perpetual sadness over the current state of Palestinian affairs, Awad argued that the celebration highlighted a growing disconnect between the Palestinian public and the realities of the ongoing conflict.
The Nablus Municipality did not respond to The Jerusalem Post’s request for comment.
