Popular Gaza ice cream parlour stirs nostalgia with first UAE branch

Beloved Palestinian ice cream parlour Kazem, forced to shutter its Gaza doors in 2023 as the Israel-Hamas war escalated, has opened up in the United Arab Emirates, offering not just frozen treats, but a taste of nostalgia to the local community.

Kazem is now serving scoops of ice cream and its famous barrad, a traditional Palestinian slushy drink with citrus flavours, in Ajman, a small emirate roughly 45 km (28 miles) north of Dubai, the region's tourism and business hub.

Owner Mohammad Kazem Abu Shaban, whose father founded the business, said he chose Ajman for its established local Palestinian community.

"Every time they come here, [visitors] say it brings back memories of 30, 40 years ago," Abu Shaban said. "It brings back memories of the days when they used to go to Gaza and drink the barrad that I'm famous for." 

Kazem began serving ice cream in northern Gaza in 1950 and remained a local fixture for over 70 years before it was forced to close.

Its Gaza location reopened in February, but supply shortages and instability made it impossible to sustain operations, Abu Shaban said, adding the shop opening relies on the availability of raw materials. 

"By God, the situation in Gaza is bad."

Opening in Ajman was a way to preserve a piece of Palestinian heritage far from home, said Abu Shaban, who hoped to open branches in other cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Dubai's Mohammad Khamis Ali Al Mazrouei said he understood the hype around Kazem once he had tried the ice cream and barrad.

"I mean, it is special," he said.

For Abu Shaban, who has lost his brother and niece in the war, Kazem is not just about dessert, but a way to keep memories of Gaza alive, one scoop at a time.  

"It is an indescribable feeling. Your family, relatives, and friends come, and they bring back the memories we lost in Gaza."