A food delivery app dedicated to Arab cities in Israel is revolutionizing the industry, serving residents of areas without adequate infrastructure for similar services to thrive in.

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In February 2020, Dr. Hasan Abasi launched Haat from his office in the Arab town Umm al-Fahm in northern Israel.

"The beginning was very difficult," Dr. Abasi, CEO of the food delivery app, told i24NEWS.

"The first part was to convince people of your idea, and the second part was when you actually start working on the app yourself."

Abasi's app recently crossed the 1 million order mark, connecting Arab communities in Israel with 670 shops and restaurants.

"Planning is one thing, and implementing it is completely different," Abasi continued.

'Haat,' which means "bring" in Arabic, answers the unmet needs of Arab communities in Israel that do not always have the means to take advantage of typical food delivery services.

Unlike the food delivery apps Wolt or UberEats, Abasi's Haat allows payment by both cash and credit card, with 80% of its turnover in cash.

It also allows orders to be sent to the location of a user's smartphone – in contrast to other apps that require an exact address – since many houses in Arab towns and villages are not numbered.

"One of the things that we work on is user experience, on how we can make it easier for users to get what they want," Muhammad Jawabri, user experience specialist at Haat, told i24NEWS.

Although the application already covers a wide area that extends from Yarka in northern Israel to Jerusalem, the team's ambition is far greater.

"'Haat' must control the whole world of deliveries in all areas without infrastructure," Abasi said.

This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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A court in eastern France convicted a delivery driver of anti-Semitic discrimination on Thursday for refusing to take orders for kosher food, and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the Algerian man would be deported after he completes his prison sentence.

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The conviction in the city of Strasbourg came two days after a regional Jewish institution, the Israelite Consistory of the Bas-Rhin region, said two kosher restaurants had reported that drivers working for Deliveroo refused to handle their food because they didn't want to deliver to Jews.

The group and restaurants filed a legal complaint, the consistory said Tuesday, denouncing what it called "openly anti-Semitic discrimination." Only one deliverer was ultimately involved in the court action.

The interior minister tweeted that the Algerian man, who was in France illegally, had been convicted and handed a four-month prison sentence.

"I decided to expel from the national territory the food 'deliverer'...who said he did not want to handle deliveries to Jewish clients," Darmanin wrote.

The Strasbourg prosecutor's office had opened an investigation into "discrimination based on ethnic origin in the framework of providing a service," according to a prosecutor's aide.

Deliveroo spokesman Damien Steffan said Tuesday on local broadcaster France Bleu that the company thinks "anti-Semitic acts, like all racist or discriminatory acts of all kinds, are unacceptable."

Deliveroo has around 14,000 drivers in France and has seen business grow considerably during the coronavirus pandemic.

The case drew the national government's attention amid long-running efforts to fight anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination. France's minister for citizenship issues, Marlene Schiappa, met Tuesday with the management of Deliveroo France.

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French prosecutors are investigating complaints by Jewish groups in the eastern city of Strasbourg that one or more delivery drivers refused to take orders of kosher food.

The Israelite Consistory of the Bas-Rhin region said that two kosher restaurants reported that drivers working for delivery service Deliveroo refused to deliver their food because they didn't want to deliver to Jews.

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The group and restaurants filed a legal complaint, the consistory said Tuesday, denouncing what it called "openly anti-Semitic discrimination."

The Strasbourg prosecutor's office opened an investigation into potential charges of "discrimination based on ethnic origin in the framework of providing a service," according to a prosecutor's aide.

Deliveroo spokesman Damien Steffan said on local broadcaster France Bleu that the company is investigating internally and that "anti-Semitic acts, like all racist or discriminatory acts of all kinds, are unacceptable." The company has around 14,000 drivers in France and has seen business grow considerably amid coronavirus lockdowns.

The case drew the national government's attention amid long-running efforts to fight anti-Semitism and other acts of hate. France's minister for citizenship issues, Marlene Schiappa, is meeting Tuesday with the management of Deliveroo France.

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The majority of Israeli owners of restaurants in New York state do not believe their businesses can survive the COVID-19 pandemic if they are unable to offer patrons an indoor dining option, according to the findings of a study released last week by the New York-Israel Business Alliance.

The study offers a snapshot of the challenges confronting the restaurant industry during the pandemic and the measures adopted to overcome them. From Oct. 19 through Dec. 9, 2020, NYIBA distributed a questionnaire to 100 Israeli owners of restaurants in New York State. The data presented in the findings is based on the 30 owners who responded. Throughout its research, NYIBA used publicly available information and individual outreach to identify and verify that there are 173 Israeli-owned restaurants in the state today.

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"New York's restaurant industry stands at the forefront of a vexing, high-stakes public policy decision that, in many cases, pits economic livelihood against physical health," said NYIBA president Aaron Kaplowitz.

"Based on the study's findings, Israeli restaurant owners are by no means immune to the difficulties posed by the pandemic and, nevertheless, remain confident that they will make it through these trying times," Kaplowitz added.

According to the study, 77% of Israeli restaurant owners believed that they need to offer indoor dining in order to remain financially viable. Even so, with cold weather limiting outdoor seating options, 93% of the restaurateurs remained confident that their businesses would survive the pandemic.

Almost two-thirds of the restaurant owners felt that the government has been helpful during this ordeal, and respondents were evenly split on whether the government had clearly communicated standards and regulations.

Even with 93% of Israeli restaurants receiving federal loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, primarily intended for entities to retain employees, at least 70% of the establishments have been forced to downsize staff during the pandemic. A number of owners specified the need for a second PPP loan or other form of government stimulus.

Half of the respondents said that another government stimulus would be most helpful to restaurants at this time, while 35% cited the return of in-person office work or tourists as the most beneficial boost.

"The feedback we're receiving from an industry that must squeeze a profit out of tight margins is that it needs more help," Kaplowitz said. "There are other factors, of course, that are contributing to the economic hardships, such as reduced foot traffic and an inability to attract new customers."

A majority of the owners have adopted new technology solutions to help their businesses stay afloat, such as updating online order and delivery systems.

"Israeli business owners across all industries have shown a willingness to adapt and innovate," Kaplowitz said. "I think that part of the reason Israelis are drawn to New York and New Yorkers are drawn to Israel is that both business cultures address challenges head-on and require resilience in order to succeed."

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