The journalist and political commentator, Khamis Abulafia, died of her origin

Businessman and journalist, Khamis Abulafia, passed away tonight (Thursday through Friday). He was hospitalized in critical condition at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv last month after contracting Corona. Khamis, 60 at the time of his death, one of the owners of the famous bakery that his family founded in the last century, left behind a wife and two sons – Tarek and Ziad.

Abulafia apparently contracted Corona during a family event at his home more than a month ago. Two weeks later his condition rapidly deteriorated and he was transferred to the intensive care unit in a human condition.

Khamis Abulafia previously served as a reporter for Israeli affairs on Egyptian television and is considered a fan of Israel. He presented a program on Radio Tel Aviv that called for good neighborliness between Jews and Arabs and wrote a column in the Yedioth Tel Aviv local newspaper of the Yedioth Communication network. He also served as a member of the Public Broadcasting Corporation Board (here). He had a bachelor’s degree in social sciences and humanities from Tel Aviv University, a law degree from Ramat Gan College and a certificate in communication studies.

Abulafia is mainly associated with the mythological bakery on Yefet Street in Jaffa, near Clock Square. He has worked hard for coexistence, and traditionally since the establishment of the State of Israel, the bakery has closed on Passover and Yom Kippur, as a tribute to Jewish customers. The bakery was closed on Passover and in recent years a kosher branch has even been opened.

He discovered his love for flour as a child in the Ajami neighborhood, where he grew up, on a street where Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together. He owned branches in Cinema City in Rishon Lezion (which he opened with his son Tarek in 2007), in the Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv, in the Tel Aviv port, on the promenade, in Allenby and in the kosher branch in Petah Tikva. On the Yefet Street in Jaffa, the Abulafia family also operates a skewer shop, and owns real estate businesses in Tel Aviv and Jaffa.

Upon learning of Abulafia’s death, many residents had been coming to the family home since the morning hours, and mosques were preparing prayers for him. The Abulafia family would like to thank the Ichilov Hospital staff and the hospital’s director, Professor Roni Gamzo, for the effort, personal attitude and concern throughout the hospitalization period.