Next beer in Jerusalem: Boozing with Hamas.

• Author: Cavanaugh, Tim
• Position: Taybeh Brewery launches non-alcoholic beer - Brief article

FULFILLING HALF Of Frank Zappa's rule that you're not a country until you've got your own beer and airline, Palestine's ruling party now has its own (unofficial, nonalcoholic) brew. Taybeh Brewery owner Nadim Khoury is introducing a new 0.0 percent beverage with the brand name "Hamas" on an Islamic green label.

Khoury, who already markets a variety of real beers, notes that nonalcoholic brews are widely popular in the Gulf states; he hopes Hamas will look with favor on his new venture. (Taybeh's other beers are not sold in Gaza, and one of Khoury's distributors was burned down a few years ago.) But the brewer also sees his new drink helping Palestinians in their "unified goal," stating, "Every time we sell a bottle of beer it goes toward building the state of Palestine."

This isn't the first time Levantine suds have been served with a foamy head of national unity. Syria markets the government-owned Al-Sharq ("The East") medium malt, while Lebanon's...