Q&A: Israeli vs. Lebanese Hummus
Is there a difference between the Israeli and Lebanese versions of hummus? And what the Syrians have to say about it? Plus: two very tasty and strongly recommended blogs.
Question:
Randy asked: What are the main differences between Israeli style hummus and Lebanese style hummus? Read more
Inside the Israeli Pita
Falafel, an ancient dish from Egypt, found itself in our era in the middle of this civilization collision mess. If only all other outcomes of cultural conflicts were so tasteful.
I’m afraid we are all living in what that famous Chinese saying calls “interesting times”. And it’s most certainly too interesting here, in Israel.
Even if you follow the news, you probably don’t get the full picture. It is complicated, and I’m really here to write about food, so I’ll say just that: both us Israelis and our Palestinians brothers, are good people with lousy leaders.
But well, I’m here to tell you about the complexity of the Israeli pita bread, so lets get down to it.
Read more
Anti-Bush Voting for Hummus
Some of you may have already seen this hummus-related-humor video; Elon Gold, a stand-up comedian, is talking about hummus and politic. Well, I decided I have some things toI want say about it. And for those of you who didn’t: be patient. It’s pretty annoying in the beginning, only to become VERY funny in the end.
Gold’s theory explains how come the Palestinians voted for hammas, and American elected George W. Bush. It sound perfectly reasonable – and very funny, although you might get a little upset at first (Especialy if you didn’t vote to George W. Bush.
Watch it, then read the rest of the post.
So, ironically, it turns out that Gold is an Anti-Bush activist…
Or some would probably classify him that way.I’m not that much into Anti-Bush humor myself (in Israel we have many evil politicians of ourself). Also, I don’t think W. is as stupid as some people say he is, which make some of the Anti-Bush jokes less funny and actually pretty dumb.I do think, though, that George Bush Junior is the worst president US could ever had such a time in history, when it could benefit from being not only bold, but also smart and humane and generous – which it isn’t. And that’s bad for people all over the world, not just for Liberal Democrats in Americans.Plus, I saw Fahrenheit 911 [Trailer], and “Supersize America”, and read Joseph Stiglitz’s book (which I might talk about more in a future post). I hate Neo-Conservatism and Evangelism and Fascism – no matter what form they take, and if they occur in Israel, the US or any other place.
So is eating hummus an Anti-Bush act? In some way it is, at list for me – and maybe also for Gold, I don’t know. Because it reminds us how Palestinians and Israelis – as well as rich and poor people or Muslims and Christians – are already bound together, so they ought to have to learn to live with one another.
Bushism is about making other people more like you – so it’s about McDonald’s hamburgers. Anti-Bush kind of thought is about eating hummus, which is a demonstration of our rewarding co-existence with people and cultures different of ours.
Above all, in my eyes Elon Gold’s stand-up is beautifully naive, in a good way. His “characters” are good people, from both sides, who can’t understand whygood people elect bad leaders. This is how many people in Israel also feel about our current leadership, and also about the given alternatives.
Who stole my hummus?
Hummus, Falafel and Shawarma ARE Arab foods. And they are also Israeli foods. Those who claim differently, too often lack the knowledge or the wisdom to see things as they really are.
I already addressed the issue of subjecting hummus and other middle-eastern foods to political disputes. You can read all about it in my post Hummus, is it Israeli or Arab. But I can’t help commenting on this piece, a column by George S. Hishmeh titled ” The undeclared war on Arab cuisine”.
Hishmeh says: “My niece, Irene, called me a few days ago indignant that some of her American friends, including some Jews, keep describing typical Arab foods such as falafel, hummus and shawarma, among others, as Israeli. She wanted to know how she can convince them this is not the case.” Read more
Hummus: is it Israeli or Arab?
Most Israelis, and many people around the world, believe hummus to be an Israeli dish. On the other hand, when they want to eat good hummus, most Israelis will go to an Arab hummus place. So how invented it? Who does hummus belong to?
If you’d tell a Syrian, a Palestinian or an Israeli Arab, that hummus is an Israeli dish, they will probably laugh at your face. Hummus is eaten all over the middle-east, and is a part of the traditional Arab kitchen. There’s no way it was brought here by European Jews…
This does sound reasonable, although chickpeas are known to man for at least 9000 years. The Greeks loved it and the Romans made various dishes with it. Technically, the first documented use of chickpeas to make hummus is from the time of the crusaders, and it took place in ancient Israel.
True, the use of chickpeas to make a traditional dish called “Hamitz” was mentioned in the Talmud, some 700 years earlier. Read more
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