Crafted in Jerusalem by Hands from Gaza: The Entrepreneurial Journey of S&M Chocolate House

The moment you park into the building’s front yard, located in Jerusalem’s Wadi al-Joz neighborhood, the rich scent of chocolate wafts powerfully from the kitchen and leads you straight to the home of Samia Abu Shaaban.

In this quiet neighborhood home, Samia has been making chocolate every day since she launched S&M Chocolate House in July 2024.

As she prepared a fresh batch in the kitchen, Samia thoughtfully arranged a selection of chocolates in the living room—ready to share the story of her project with Jerusalem Story.

Samia was born in Kuwait, where she spent her childhood, before moving to Iraq to pursue her bachelor’s degree. The outbreak of the 1991 Gulf War, however, prompted her father to return with his wife and six children to their home in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza in 1992.

Samia, who was born in 1972, arrived in Gaza and enrolled at Birzeit University, north of the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the College of Commerce in 1997.

She worked for two years in Ramallah before returning to Gaza, where she joined the Palestinian Monetary Authority. Her future husband, a Jerusalemite, was working in the same department at the authority’s Ramallah branch. Shortly after they met in 2003, the couple traveled with their families to Jordan and got married. After spending a year together in Gaza, they decided to settle in Jerusalem.

Samia remained with the Monetary Authority—commuting to its Ramallah branch—until the end of 2022. From then until the launch of her project, she searched tirelessly for job opportunities, but to no avail.

With the outbreak of Israel’s latest genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, Samia felt an urgent need to stay busy and escape the grim scenes playing across all the news channels.

She enrolled in a four-hour course on chocolate-making, followed by several other workshops. Then, on a summer day last year, she confided in her brother Mohamed—who lives outside Gaza—about her dream of launching a home-based chocolate business. His response was, “I’ll fund you.”

Thus, the project was born, and its name is a blend of their initials, Samia and Mohamed. But Samia’s desire for financial independence and a reliable source of income wasn’t the only driving force; the war also played a crucial role in fast-tracking the launch.

“I was mentally drained from constantly thinking and worrying about my family back in Gaza,” Samia told Jerusalem Story.1 “We tried many times to get them out, but they refused at first, and even then, it wasn’t financially feasible. The sense of helplessness was crushing—so I chose to face my fears and start something that could offer me a source of income.”

The emotional weight of the moment also played a role in launching the project. Every time Samia spoke with her six-year-old niece Judy who is trapped in Gaza, she would say, “My wish is to eat chocolate . . . I want chocolate.”

Samia broke down in tears as she spoke about this pain. She remembered searching for ways to make chocolate at home using the simplest ingredients. She shared the recipes with Judy’s mother, but even the most basic ingredients were missing in Gaza.

“So, I decided to make chocolate at home to be ready to deliver it myself to Judy and my mother, who both love chocolate, the moment the war comes to an end.”

Several factors came together to catalyze the launch of the project from Samia’s small kitchen in Jerusalem, where she prepared chocolate in front of us. She shared that during the war, she felt a deep disconnect from herself, as if her sense of taste and interest in many things had shifted dramatically. It became clear to her that she needed to find a way to reconnect with who she was.

“I felt that I wanted to pour my emotions into something I love and enjoy, and chocolate is one of those things. This project helped me reassemble myself again.”

Samia makes dark chocolate from unprocessed organic ingredients, free of sugar, preservatives, and hydrogenated oils. Some types are sweetened with only dates and honey.

“I put different fillings inside the chocolate and even in the dough itself, which I sometimes infuse with hot pepper, paprika, cardamom, and cinnamon. I’m known for blending spices with chocolate and combining various flavors.”

On April 12, 2025, Samia took part in her first handmade product exhibition, and her heart soared with joy as visitors flocked to taste her chocolate and offered glowing feedback.

As she added the final touches to the batch she was preparing, Samia answered our question about her greatest wish: “to have my own factory and a team of employees,” she said. Yet, throughout our two-hour discussion, it was clear that what she longed for the most was an end to the war and a chance to reunite with her family in Gaza.

As we were about to conclude our conversation, Samia said, “I’m sure the war will end and my niece Judy, my mother, and all my loved ones in Gaza will taste this chocolate one day over there.”

She added: “I will hold an exhibition for everyone to taste it, and that’s what keeps me getting up to make chocolate every day. Without hope, women from Gaza who live outside Gaza could never continue their lives.”

While photographing Samia’s chocolates, one could notice Gaza’s presence in every piece: from the decoration with dried strawberries—one of Gaza’s top exports—to the chocolates adorned with golden spray, inspired by the sands of the Gaza Strip’s beaches, to the spicy kick of chili-infused chocolate—chili having been a staple on the table of every Palestinian family in Gaza, before the war began.

Gaza is certainly at the heart of Samia’s project.