Kosher restaurateur Monty Blankier, left, visits the store owned by his friend Maher Abushamleh at the store the latter man operates. The two were introduced by a Bank of America loan officer.

Benjie Sanders / Arizona Daily Star

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On the other side of the world, Maher Abushamleh probably wouldn't be able to help Monty Blankier open a restaurant.

With religious tensions escalating on the West Bank, the sight of Abushamleh, a Muslim, and Blankier, a Jew, shaking hands would have been as rare as a cease-fire.

But in Tucson, it's possible for the two to be good friends who talk, laugh and eat together occasionally, as well as help each other's businesses thrive.

Their friendship, which started three months ago through introductions by a mutual acquaintance, has grown through their desire to give Tucson's residents with ethnic ties to the Middle East a sense of community through cuisine.

So far, they say, it's working. Arabs and Jews sit in adjacent booths at Sabra Restaurant, Blankier's month-old endeavor. Kosher and non-kosher foods line the shelves at Jerusalem Market, which Abushamleh has run for seven months with his half-brother, Ali Al-Nashash.

"I wish people could sit together comfortably over there (in the West Bank) like they do here," Blankier said.

Both men are Yamen Fellah's clients at Bank of America, and he introduced the two when Blankier was getting financing for his restaurant. Fellah said there was never any apprehension about bringing together two people who represented opposite sides of a major conflict.

"People are people first," Fellah said. "That's how I go about it."

Abushamleh said his business wouldn't succeed if he excluded those outside his faith from shopping at his store.

"I want everybody to walk in thinking it's their store," Abushamleh said. "It's good for business."

Business has been so good at Jerusalem Market, 2536 E. Broadway, that Abushamleh has expanded the store's offerings beyond dry goods. Fresh produce and meats will be displayed soon, and local restaurants can buy items shipped from warehouses across the country.

Abushamleh also sells paintings, compact discs, DVDs and glassware. Hookahs, popular among college students, are for sale on the back shelves, Abushamleh said. One of the reasons he opened the store at its current location was to serve the wide variety of Middle Eastern students who live near the University of Arizona.

"We wanted to be where our clients worship and work," Abushamleh said.

Like Jerusalem Market, Sabra, at 4210 E. Speedway, is slowly finding customers as word spreads about its unique offerings. Sabra is the only glatt kosher restaurant in town, Blankier said. This means the meat comes from animals with no lung defects. Informally, it also means the food was prepared with the highest kosher standards, he added.

To find foods like these before Sabra opened, Tucsonans would have had to drive to Phoenix, Blankier said.

"They weren't as surprised as they were appreciative when they first came here," Blankier said.

There are other kosher restaurants in town, but people such as Maurice Mordka, 66, said the Jewish community will likely turn Sabra into a local institution, just as Feig's Kosher Market and Deli became a Tucson favorite.

"I think it's good, because it offers diversity," Mordka said shortly after his third visit to Sabra.

Blankier said being the only glatt kosher restaurant in town puts him in exclusive company, and he looks forward to the day when another one opens.

"Competition is always good, because you can compare things," he said.