Arab plumbers charge Holocaust survivor zero shekels for repairs

“Money is important,” Simon said, “but it’s not the most important.”

By World Israel News Staff  

Two Arab plumbers – brothers – recently refused payment from a Jewish client from Haifa after they learned that she was a Holocaust survivor.

On a Facebook page called: Good Deeds Day, the story is told of Simon and Salim Matari who came to the home of a 95-year-old woman to “fix a routine problem.”

During their visit, they engaged in conversation with the woman. She told them her “life story.”

During the course of the discussion, as the plumbers were continuing their work, the woman revealed that she is a Holocaust survivor, said Simon, according to the Facebook post.

She also said that she has a “lone daughter,” he added.

“Her story touched my heart,” said the plumber. “At that moment, I decided not to charge her an agora,” he said, as quoted by the Good Deeds Day post.

“Money is important,” Simon said, “but it’s not the most important. It’s important to be a human being.”

The woman was identified in a Channel 12 TV report as Rosa Meir. The amount which the plumbers would have normally charged reportedly was NIS 1,000, the equivalent of $285.

On the receipt, the plumbers put the sum total at “0,” and in the column for the description of the work that they had done, they wrote: “Holocaust survivor” and added the traditional Jewish greeting wishing her good health until the age of 120, and then included their names on the slip of paper.