A bullet-proof vest or Tzitzit?, Oil on canvas, 2016

'Suddenly, standing there at the door, was a fair-haired soldier with a bag on his shoulder; one of those wandering British soldiers who were passing through more often these days, on the way from Jisr al-Majami camp to Haifa ...
"I've got something worth selling here" ...
"What is it?" ...
"This is a real protective jacket," the soldier said. "A bullet-proof vest, lightweight. It's got small plates inside reinforced with fiber-glass." ...
"It's really useful for a fighter," the soldier said. "Something special. My mother sent it to me from London," he went on. "As I said, it's something special. She was afraid I'd be killed and this was the only thing she could find to protect me. Apart from her prayers."
From: Yahya Yakhlif, A Lake Beyond the Wind