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Arab-Israeli plumbers waive fee after hearing 95-year old client is a Holocaust survivor

Simon and Selim Matari refused to charge Rosa Meir anything for their work after hearing her story

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Two Arab plumbers in Haifa who discovered that their client was a Holocaust survivor decided not to charge her for their services – as well as telling her that if she ever needed anything else fixed, they would do it for free.

As reported by Israeli media, Simon and Selim Matari, two brothers who operate a plumbing business in the northern Israeli city, fixed a burst pipe in the apartment of Rosa Meir, a 95-year-old living in the city.

“While we were working, my brother started talking to Rosa about her life,” Simon Matari told Israel’s Channel 12.

“She told us she is 95, a Holocaust survivor, and has a daughter.”

The plumber described how after hearing her story, he decided that they “would not take a penny from her.”

On the bill, the plumbers wrote that the customer was a “Holocaust survivor; may she live until 120,” the age at which Jewish people traditionally wish each other to live until. Signing their names, they wrote that she owed them “0.00”, rather than the approximately 1,000 shekel (£233) the job had cost.

They also told her that if she had needed any other work done in the future, they would do it for her for free.

Mrs Meir said she had been “really surprised” by the gesture, asking “where are there other people like this in the country?

“It was so moving and uplifting. I thanked them a lot.”

The brothers said that they were brought up to help people.

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

“The most important thing is to show humanity.”

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