With the creation of thousands of new jobs since the end of Israeli occupation, more and more women have joined the work force and offices and universities have become important meeting places. The changes are most pronounced in Ramallah, a cosmopolitan city of 1,00,000 and the Palestinians' de facto capital, where dozens of new restaurants and discos opened in quick succession, including Raed Haddad's Kan Bata Zaman cafe. Ramallah is unique because many of its residents are US citizens and have been exposed to western ways in their years abroad. Ramallah residents began immigrating to the United States at the turn of the century, but almost always returned once their children reached adolescence, in order to avoid the American dating scene. Now many families have homes both in the United States and Ramallah, with relatives on both sides of the ocean.
Islamic preachers watch the erosion of tradition anxiously.
The only way to solve our problems is to commit to Islam,'' he said. Sociologist Salim Tamari said that the older generation still shares Bitawi's conservative views. While dating is on the rise, people's acceptance of it is not, he said. But there are many signs that the old customs are still strictly observed by most, as they are elsewhere in the West Asia especially in rural areas. In poverty-stricken gaza, where one million people live in an area of a little more than 260 sq.