Apolis Middle East Project

This short video tells an inspiring story of a cross-border, cooperative triumph over exclusionary geo-politics. It starts in Los Angeles, where Apolis is based. The design/advocacy brand hires third-generation shoemaker Shlomy Azolay to craft its Co-Op Leather Sandals in Tel Aviv, Israel. Azolay, for his part, partners with West Bank-based footwear producer Mohammad “Hijazi” Altzatari for manufacturing. While the Israeli-Palestinian business relationship has been going strong for several years, the two parties had never met face to face. Until now.