GAZA CITY: When nightfall descends upon Gaza, the glittering lights of the Level Up restaurant seem to be the only bright spot in this darkened city.
In a territory plagued by chronic power outages, poverty and shortages of construction materials, the restaurant defies all the rules: It’s well lit, thanks to a humming generator. The tables are crowded and hard to come by, and it is one of the few places in Gaza to rebound and relax.
“People want to believe that they should live their lives,” said Basil Eleiwa, the manager of the restaurant. “People seem to like this place.”
The story of Level Up is in many ways the story of Gaza. It’s located in a high-rise complex that symbolized the short-lived hopes for prosperity in the crowded seaside territory two decades ago. It has been impacted by the rule of the Hamas militant group, experienced the horrors of war, yet somehow manages to plod along in difficult circumstances.
The restaurant opened just days before last year’s war with Israel broke out on July 8. At first, it suffered only minor damage. But about three weeks into the fighting, owner Mohammed Abu Mathkour says he received a phone call from the Israeli Army.
An Israeli intelligence officer told him that Hamas maintained a communications antenna on the roof of the building and that he had several hours to take it down.
“I told them I cannot take it down without permission from the Hamas Interior Ministry,” he explained. Knowing what lay ahead, he rushed home to avoid the likely Israeli attack. The next day, Israeli tank shells hit the upper floors of the building. Level Up’s kitchen was severely damaged.
The Israeli officer called him back, and Abu Mathkour says they had the same argument about the antenna. The 56-year-old, who worked as a construction worker in Israel as a youth, vowed to rebuild the damage.
“You destroy. I rebuild,” he says he told the officer on the phone. “That’s what I was born to do.”
In the following days, the building absorbed two more rounds of shelling, Abu Mathkour said. During a temporary cease-fire, he visited the site to inspect the damage. The restaurant was flooded and covered in dust. Chairs and tables were broken, and so was most of the glassware.
When the Israeli officer called again, Abu Mathkour says he told him: “I promise you to open it 10 days after the war stops.”
Owner of one of the largest construction firms in Gaza, he says he began making repairs before the war ended. Whenever there was a lull in fighting, his workers mixed cement in the basement of the building and sent it to the roof in buckets to rebuild the walls. The war ended on Aug. 26, and Level Up reopened on Sept. 10.
These days, reservations must be made well ahead of time to get a table, especially in the evenings. The cafe and restaurant are packed with people, as customers dine and smoke flavored tobacco from bubbling water pipes.
“The place is new. We see the sea from here and see all Gaza. It’s open, not dark,” said Sami Abu Haloub, a 34-year-old engineer who sat with his friends sipping hot drinks and smoking.
Rooftop restaurant delicious symbol of Gaza resilience
Rooftop restaurant delicious symbol of Gaza resilience
Some Warren Buffett wisdom on his last day leading Berkshire Hathaway
OMAHA, Nebraska: The advice that legendary investor Warren Buffett offered on investing and life over the years helped earn him legions of followers who eagerly read his annual letters and filled an arena in Omaha every year to listen to him at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meetings.
Buffett’s last day as CEO is Wednesday after six decades of building up the Berkshire conglomerate. He’ll remain chairman, but Greg Abel will take over leadership.
Here’s a collection of some of Buffett’s most famous quotes from over the years:
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“Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”
That’s how Buffett summed up his investing approach of buying out-of-favor stocks and companies when they were selling for less than he estimated they were worth.
He also urged investors to stick with industries they understand that fall within their “circle of competence” and offered this classic maxim: “Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1.”
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“After they first obey all rules, I then want employees to ask themselves whether they are willing to have any contemplated act appear the next day on the front page of their local paper to be read by their spouses, children and friends with the reporting done by an informed and critical reporter.
“If they follow this test, they need not fear my other message to them: Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm and I will be ruthless.”
That’s the ethical standard Buffett explained to a Congressional committee in 1991 that he would apply as he cleaned up the Wall Street investment firm Salomon Brothers. He has reiterated the newspaper test many times since over the years.
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“You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.”
Many companies might do well when times are good and the economy is growing, but Buffett told investors that a crisis always reveals whether businesses are making sound decisions.
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“Who you associate with is just enormously important. Don’t expect that you’ll make every decision right on that. But you are going to have your life progress in the general direction of the people you work with, that you admire, that become your friends.”
Buffett always told young people that they should try to hang out with people who they feel are better than them because that will help improve their lives. He said that’s especially true when choosing a spouse, which might be the most important decision in life.
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“Our unwavering conclusion: never bet against America.”
Buffett has always remained steadfast in his belief in the American capitalist system. He wrote in 2021 that “there has been no incubator for unleashing human potential like America. Despite some severe interruptions, our country’s economic progress has been breathtaking.”
