The Green Pub in Kibbutz Nir with the Gaza envelope has become an institution in the 21 years it has been operating. A regular meeting place and much loved by residents of the south. But on the bloody Saturday, October 7, its owners, Itai Mevorach (36) and Shahar Schwartz (37), who live in Nir Am, found themselves in real danger. The place was damaged, the kibbutz was abandoned and its residents were evacuated to two hotels in Tel Aviv. Today (Tuesday) they will partially restore the closed pub, which for them and many others is home, at the Herods Tel Aviv Hotel of the Fattal chain, where they now live.
The new location will open permanently as a non-profit with the assistance of CBC Israel Group (the main company for the production of soft drinks) and a surprising initiative of the CEO of Herods Tel Aviv, Racheli Amsalem. It will offer good beers, light snacks alongside them such as crackers and live performances. "Our community has been traumatized. The Green Pub was a home for us, a kibbutz within a kibbutz. In the new place, friends from Nir Am will be able to meet again, drink their beer and socialize," says the owner, Itai Mevorach.
Preparations for the opening of the new place, photo: PR
"On the seventh of October, we woke up to a morning of rocket fire, and usually in such a situation my wife and I take our three-year-old child and run towards the center. This time, too, we tried to do the same. But when we got to the kibbutz gate, it didn't open," Mevorach recalls of that Black Shabbat. Fortunately for the three, the electricity in the kibbutz collapsed, saving their lives and causing them to return home, where they stayed in the safe room for 11 hours while fierce fighting raged around them. "A few days later, we discovered that the terrorists were on the other side of the gate," he says.
IDF forces arrived at Kibbutz Nir faster than in other communities, and the alert squad worked well. "We heard shots near the house, got messages from friends from Gaza or Bari and realized it was our turn to fight. At 8pm I tell my wife it's time to go out and not look back - we took the car and left. Unfortunately, I saw harsh pictures, body parts. I told my wife and child to lower their heads," Mevorach explains of the atrocities.
Some of the customers are not or are kidnapped, photo: Nir Galanti
And since then, the bustling hangout that he and Schwartz led, has stood closed and orphaned. The power outage in the kibbutz damaged the merchandise, and the equipment there – speakers used for live performances, lighting and even the new bar counters – wore out or was completely destroyed. "This is our home and to see it like that is unpleasant," he says painfully, adding: "But it's all material, and it's amazing how much at this time - it just doesn't interest us."
The customers, who are friends, are not or are abducted in Gaza
Shahar Schwartz founded Green Pub together with a former partner, Ido Gilad (45), in 2002 after the two were looking for a place to sit and host more people than their living room could accommodate in their small apartment on the kibbutz. The bar, which was built at the time on 60 square meters, expanded over the years patch by patch, so that each part of it looks different depending on the time it opened. Today it covers 300 square meters and normally hosts about 200 people every evening. "People from all over the region gather there," says Mevorach. "Once, 15 years ago, it was a kibbutz pub, but it became the pub of Netivot, Ashkelon, Sderot, Be'eri... Customers are the place, the employees are the place. They made him what he is. On the walls where we put gifts and creations of the customers, who are actually friends, who are like family. Today some of them are not or are kidnapped in Gaza, you will understand how many empty chairs we have."
Itai is blessed and his son, photo: from Facebook
The idea of relocating the Green Pub to the Herods Tel Aviv Hotel was initiated, as mentioned, by Racheli Amsalem, the hotel's general manager, to which most of the residents of Nir Am were evacuated. When she received the kibbutz members, she talked to each and every one of them. "Orna Schwartz (mother of Shahar Schwartz, the owner) painfully told me about Shahar and his partner Itai, who are in sadness, not only because of the general situation, but also because of their baby, the Green Pub, they left behind on the kibbutz," Amsalem recalls. "I listened to her and beyond the fact that she entered my heart, something about her honesty made me act." According to her, the first step was to approach David Fattal and ask him to donate one of the hotel's commercial areas for the cause. "David immediately understood the human importance, got involved and gave me the green light. At that moment I already saw the pub in my mind's eye."
Mevorach says: "Racheli went from person to person and tried to understand where she could touch. Time passes, and suddenly she throws out of nowhere to Shahar's mother: "Maybe we'll do something nice for the kibbutz society, to raise morale here. Not something big, but one that will bring a smile."
Shahar Schwartz, photo: from Facebook
With the help of good people
From the first step, Amsalem took care of all bureaucratic matters. The CBC Group also stepped up and made things happen. In recent days, company representatives traveled with the developers back to Kibbutz Nir Am, where they gathered elements and souvenirs for the pub that will give the place the atmosphere from the original place. "The central company entered the picture with all its might," says Mevorach. "They took the merchandise of the original bar and credited us for it. Then they told us: 'We heard that you're struggling with the idea of relocating the place – everything you need about us: signage, equipment, merchandise, beers, just say we'll take care.' They started painting, putting things from the pub in Nir Am in the new place and executed it amazingly."
How do you feel about the opening in Tel Aviv today?
"I'm excited. This is not self-evident. Even if I really wanted to do it, I didn't think it could happen – both mentally and because it requires a large investment of money and time, which we didn't have. That's where good people came in and picked up the gauntlet."
Racheli Amsalem, photo: Courtesy of Fattal Network
Which Green Pub will open today?
"Green Pub is Green Pub. It won't be the same. The place is smaller, but we also remember how we started. There will be crackers and a crazy variety of beers donated by the main company, there will be items from the pub that are 20 years old, which have meaning, coming to us for the opening night at Berry Sakharof and Hatikva 6."
Who is it for?
"For people who feel connected to the Green Pub. Mainly so that our community, Nir Am's, can create this atmosphere again and meet."
Are you going to return to Nir Am eventually?
"We have no other home - we have Nir Am and we have the Green Pub. I really wouldn't be ready for us to go through another black Saturday like this. If security isn't good there, we won't be there. But I guess in the end we won't let a situation like this happen again."
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