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Politicization of Middle Eastern food

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Foods such as falafel and hummus, which originated in the Middle East, have been used as political symbols as part of a general gastronationalistic movement in the region that uses food and national culinary identity to make accusations of colonization of Arab culture and cultural appropriation by Israel.[1]

Background

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After the creation of Israel, Jews migrated from many parts of the world, where they had many different culinary cultures; these immigrants embraced local ingredients such as olives, olive oil, lemons and lemon juice, and oranges and regionally traditional foods such as falafel and hummus, absorbing these ingredients and dishes into diasporic Jewish foodways to create an Israeli cuisine.[2][3][4]

Israel consciously used food and cuisine to develop a sense of nationalism and national identity within a community composed of immigrants from multiple cultures.[5] Culinary anthropologist Yael Raviv argued that "Israelis' choice of falafel and hummus as markers of identity should perhaps be perceived as a reflection of their wish to become part of the Middle East" and used the development of this cuisine and the foods themselves as unifying symbols.[2][3] Traditional foods of the region were seen as "biblical" foods, the adoption of which would allow Jews who saw themselves as returning to the region of their historical roots to reconnect with the past.[6]

As well as hummus and falafel, other dishes such as ka'ak, shakshuka, labneh, knafeh, tabouleh, maftoul, za'atar, and fallahi salad have been incorporated into Israeli cuisine, often being renamed.[5][7][6] In Israeli cuisine, maftoul is called Israeli couscous, and fallahi salad is called Israeli salad.[7][4] Some of the dishes, including hummus, falafel, msabaha, baba ghanoush, and knafeh have come to be considered national dishes in Israel; according to Palestinian cookbook author Reem Kassis, Israeli scholars Ilan Baron, Dafna Hirsch, Yonatan Mendel, and Ronald Ranta have determined that the dishes were likely learned from Palestinian cooks.[5]

In some case migration of Jews was from areas where these foods were already traditional to the local food culture.[4]: 24 

Characterization as appropriation

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Over time, Israeli embrace of foods traditional to Middle East cuisine, and particularly those of Arab culture, was seen by many Palestinians and other Arabs as cultural appropriation.[5] Kassis argues the concept of an Israeli cuisine that includes traditional Palestinian foods without acknowledging the foods' origins is an attempt to "[erase Palestinians'] very history and existence".[5]

Kassis noted that Israeli cookbooks and restaurant menus commonly name dishes borrowed from other cuisines, such as calling a dish of schug "Yemeni schug” or one of sabich “Iraqi sabich” but typically don't use Palestinian the same way, possibly because the term Palestinian is "considered by many Israelis as a threat to their existence".[5] She argued that "Food for Palestinians becomes a way to reclaim our country, if not geographically, at least psychologically and emotionally", adding "That’s why referencing traditional dishes adopted from Palestinians as Israeli without regard to their origin is seen as adding insult to injury: First the land, now the food and culture?"[5]

Two dishes in particular, falafel and hummus, were embraced by Israel as markers of national identity.[2]: 24–25  According to Raviv, "political conflict is an unavoidable part of the discussion of Zionist history, even food".[2]: 1  Both dishes are commonly served at Jewish social gatherings outside of Israel.[2]: 24 

In an interview with the BBC, leading Israeli culinary journalist and chef Gil Hovav said: "Humous is Arabic. Falafel, our national dish, our national Israeli dish, is completely Arabic and this salad that we call an Israeli Salad, actually it’s an Arab salad, Palestinian salad. So, we sort of robbed them of everything."[8]

Falafel

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Making falafel in Ramallah

Arguments over the relative importance of falafel in various cuisines is an example of gastronationalism.[9] In particular, discussion centers around the adoption of the dish into Israeli cuisine as an example of cultural appropriation.[9] The Palestinian chickpea version of the falafel has been adopted into Israeli cuisine, where it now features prominently and has been called a national dish of Israel – an attribution that Palestinians and other Arabs have criticized.[10][11]

While, according to author Claudia Roden, falafel was “never specifically a Jewish dish” in Syria and Egypt, it was consumed by Syrian and Egyptian Jews,[12][13] and was adopted in the diet of early Jewish immigrants to the Jewish communities of Ottoman Syria.[11] As it is plant-based, Jewish dietary laws classify it as pareve and thus allow it to be eaten with both meat and dairy meals.[14]

Palestinian author Reem Kassis wrote that the term, "Israeli food" (including falafel) has become a proxy for political conflict.[11][5]

Journalist Dorothy Kahn Bar-Adon wrote in 1941 that “since the outbreak of war domestic science institutions have been advocating the use of local products" but that there was a "wall of resistance", and that many Eastern Europeans were reluctant to use local foods. Dafna Hirsch of the Open University of Israel, wrote that despite this initial reluctance, "several ingredients from the Palestinian repertoire did penetrate many Jewish kitchens by the early 1940s, mostly vegetables like olives, tomatoes, eggplants, and squashes. Prepared dishes, however, were rarely adopted, except for falafel, which became a popular street food in Tel Aviv by the late 1930s. Excluding consumption by immigrants from Arab countries, both falafel and, later, hummus seem to have been adopted mainly by the first generation of Jews born in the country."[15] Some authors have disagreed on the politics of food and its relative merit as a topic in the conflict.[16]

The Association of Lebanese Industrialists in 2008 brought a lawsuit against Israel seeking damages for lost revenues, claiming copyright infringement regarding the branding of Israeli falafel, hummus, tabbouleh, and other foods.[13][17][18]

Jennie Ebeling, writing in Review of Middle East Studies, argued that "food in general is sacred in the Middle East and falafel specifically is loaded with issues of national identity.[1] Some Palestinians and other Arabs have objected to the identification of falafel with Israeli cuisine as amounting to cultural appropriation. Kassis wrote that the dish has become a proxy for political conflict.[5][19] Joseph Massad, a Jordanian-American professor at Columbia University, has called the characterization as Israeli of falafel and other dishes of Arab origin in American and European restaurants to be part of a broader issue of appropriation by colonizers.[7] Israeli chef and cookbook author Yotam Ottolenghi told Anthony Bourdain that Israelis had "made falafel their own, and everybody in the world, and everybody in the world think falafel is an Israeli food, but in actual fact it's as much a Palestinian food, even more so".[20][21]

The dish and its politico-cutural significance were the subject of a 2013 documentary by Ari Cohen, Falafelism: The Politics of Food in the Middle East[22][1][23] which attempted to use falafel symbolically to argue that Arabs and Israelis had much in common, including the fact that multiple Middle Eastern cuisines consider falafel to be central to their national identity, but according to Ebeling the film was "ultimately unable to contribute more than anecdotally to issues of Israeli appropriation of Arab cuisine and cultural coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis".[1] According to the Toronto Star, Cohen intended the film to be about "the unifying power of falafel".[24]

In 2002, Condordia University's chapter of Hillel served falafel at an event, prompting accusations of appropriation from a pro-Palestinian student group.[25]

Hummus

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Making hummus in Jerusalem

Hummus is claimed as a national dish by Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon[26][27] in a disagreement sometimes referred to as the "hummus wars".[28]: 3 [29]: 121–123 

Hummus is often seen as an unofficial "national dish" of Israel, reflecting its huge popularity and significance among the entire Israeli population,[30] which Israel's critics describe as an appropriation of Lebanese,[31] Palestinian or Arab culture.[32] According to Ofra Tene and Dafna Hirsch, the dispute over ownership of hummus, exposes nationalism through food and the important role played by the industrialization of hummus made by Israeli private companies in 1958.[33][34] Although, hummus has traditionally been part of the cuisine of the Mizrahi Jews who lived in Arabic-speaking lands, the dish was also popularized among the Jewish immigrants from Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century. Historian Dafna Hirsch describes its adoption in their diet as part of an attempt of blending in the Middle Eastern environment,[35] while sociologist Rafi Grosglick points out the importance of its health aspects to their diet.[36] In recent years, through a process of gourmetization, the Arab identity of hummus became a marker of its authenticity, making famous Arab-Israeli villages such as Abu Gosh and Kafr Yasif. Hence, enthusiasts travel to the more remote Arab and Druze villages in the northern Galilee region in search of culinary experiences.[30][37][38]

After Sabra, a US food company, created a marketing event using hummus,[29]: 121–123  the Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI) created "Hands Off Our Dishes", a campaign claiming hummus as Lebanese and objecting to Sabra's marketing of the dish as Israeli.[29]: 121–123  Fadi Abboud, then president of ALI and later tourism minister for Lebanon, threatened legal action against Israel for marketing hummus and other commercial food products as Israeli.[29]: 121–123  Abboud characterized the hummus wars as being not about just hummus but about "the organized theft carried out by Israel" in connection to the culture of the entire Arab region.[29]: 121–123 

In October 2008, the Association of Lebanese Industrialists petitioned to the Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Trade to request protected status from the European Commission for hummus as a uniquely Lebanese food, similar to the Protected Geographical Status rights held over regional food items by various European Union countries.[39][40][41] As of 2009, the Lebanese Industrialists Association was still "collecting documents and proof" to support its claim.[42]

The 2005 short film West Bank Story features a rivalry between two fictional restaurants, the Israeli "Kosher King" and the Palestinian "Hummus Hut". A parody of West Side Story, the film won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.[43] In 2012, Australian filmmaker Trevor Graham released a documentary, Make Hummus Not War, on the political and gastronomic aspects of hummus.[44]

Lebanon and Israel's chefs have been engaged in a competition over the largest dish of hummus, as validated by the Guinness World Record, as a form of contestation of "ownership".[45] The "title" has gone back and forth between Israel (2008), Lebanon (2009), Israel (January 2010),[46] and, as of 2021, Lebanon (May 2010).[45][47][48] The winning dish, cooked by 300 cooks in the village of al-Fanar, near Beirut, weighed approximately 10,450 kilograms (23,040 lb), more than double the weight of the Israeli-Arab previous record.[49][50][51] According to local media, the recipe included eight tons of boiled chick peas, two tonnes of tahini, two tonnes of lemon juice, and 70 kilograms (150 lb) of olive oil.[47]

Israeli author Meir Shalev claims that ḥummuṣ was mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, specifically Ruth 2:14 as ḥomeṣ;[52] even though ḥomeṣ is glossed by the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) as 'sour wine' (Ruth 2:14) and means 'vinegar' in modern Hebrew, Shalev traces ḥomeṣ and ḥummuṣ as well as ḥimṣa "chickpea" to one Semitic root ḥ-m-ṣ, claiming that chickpeas are named thus in Hebrew owing to their rapid fermentation.[52] However, Bristol-based author Harriet Nussbaum criticizes Shalev's identification of ḥomeṣ in Ruth 2:14 with ḥummuṣ: while accepting the linguistic connection proposed by Shalev, Nussbaum objects that ḥomeṣ might not be ḥummuṣ but just another dish seasoned or preserved with fermented foodstuffs; and even if ḥomeṣ meant chickpeas, there is no proof that in Biblical times chickpeas were prepared in the same manner as ḥummuṣ is.[53] Moreover, linguists Pelio Fronzaroli (1971) and Leonid Kogan (2011) reconstruct Proto-Semitic root *ḥmṣ̂- for Hebrew חֹמֶץ ḥomeṣ 'vinegar', Arabic حَامِض ḥāmiḍ 'to be sour; acid' and Jewish Palestinian Aramaic ḥmʕ.[54][55][56]

Israeli salad

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Israeli salad, a term used more commonly outside of Israel
Arab salad

Israeli salad is a dish that was adopted by Jewish immigrants to the Levant in the late 19th century. It is akin to the popular Arab salad made with the locally grown Kirby cucumbers and tomatoes.[38]

The name "Israeli Salad" is used mainly outside of Israel.[38] Within Israel, it is commonly referred to as salat katzutz ("chopped salad"), salat aravi ("Arab salad"), or salat yerakot ("vegetable salad").[38][57][58]

In an interview with the BBC, leading Israeli culinary journalist and chef Gil Hovav said that the Israeli salad is in fact a Palestinian Arab salad.[59] The idea that what is known in New York delis as "Israeli salad" stems from a Palestinian rural salad is agreed on by Joseph Massad, a Palestinian professor of Arab Politics at Columbia University, as an example of the appropriation of Palestinian and Syrian foods such as hummus, falafel, and tabbouleh by Israel as "national dishes".[60]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Ebeling, Jennie (2013). "Falafelism: The Politics of Food in the Middle East". Review of Middle East Studies. 47 (2): 228–229. doi:10.1017/S2151348100058146. ISSN 2151-3481.
  2. ^ a b c d e Raviv, Yael (2015). Falafel nation: cuisine and the making of national identity in Israel. Studies of Jews in society. Lincoln London: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-9017-4.
  3. ^ a b Falafel Nation: Cuisine and the Making of a National Identity in Israel. Kirkus Reviews.
  4. ^ a b c Ottolenghi, Yotam; Tamimi, Sami (2012-10-16). Jerusalem: A Cookbook. Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. ISBN 978-1-60774-395-8.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Reem Kassis (18 February 2020). "Here's why Palestinians object to the term 'Israeli food': It erases us from history". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  6. ^ a b Kantor, Jodi (2002-07-10). "A History of the Mideast In the Humble Chickpea". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  7. ^ a b c Joseph Massad (17 November 2021). "Israel-Palestine: How food became a target of colonial conquest". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Cooking in the Danger Zone: Israel and Palestinian Territories" (PDF). BBC. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
  9. ^ a b Vered, Ronit (13 June 2018). "Israelis or Arabs – Who Owns Falafel - and Does It Matter?". Haaretz. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  10. ^ Raviv 2003, p. 20.
  11. ^ a b c Pilcher 2006, p. 115.
  12. ^ Petrini, Carlo; Watson, Benjamin (2001). Slow food : collected thoughts on taste, tradition, and the honest pleasures of food. Chelsea Green Publishing. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-931498-01-2. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  13. ^ a b Kantor, Jodi (10 July 2002). "A History of the Mideast in the Humble Chickpea". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  14. ^ Thorne, Matt; Thorne, John (2007). Mouth Wide Open: A Cook and His Appetite. Macmillan. pp. 181–187. ISBN 978-0-86547-628-8. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  15. ^ Hirsch, Dafna (November 2011). ""Hummus is best when it is fresh and made by Arabs": The gourmetization of hummus in Israel and the return of the repressed Arab". American Ethnologist. 38 (4): 619–621. doi:10.1111/j.1548-1425.2011.01326.x.
  16. ^ Ariel, Ari (2012). "The Hummus Wars". Gastronomica. 12 (1): 34–42. doi:10.1525/gfc.2012.12.1.34. ISSN 1529-3262. JSTOR 10.1525/gfc.2012.12.1.34.
  17. ^ MacLeod, Hugh (12 October 2008). "Lebanon turns up the heat as falafels fly in food fight". The Age. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  18. ^ Nahmias, Roee (10 June 2008). "Lebanon: Israel stole our falafel". Ynet News. Archived from the original on 20 April 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  19. ^ Pilcher, Jeffrey M. (2006). Food in World History. Routledge. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-415-31146-5. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  20. ^ Bourdain, Anthony (2012). "Jerusalem". Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.
  21. ^ Fisher, Max (2021-12-01). "Anthony Bourdain explains the Israel-Palestine conflict through food". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  22. ^ Campbell, Lisa (1 July 2015). "Falafelism: The Politics of Food in the Middle East". Library Journal. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  23. ^ Ghert-Zand, Renee (2010-09-14). "2000 Falafel Balls and Counting, A Mission To Understand the Falafel". The Forward. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  24. ^ Pataki, Amy (2010-08-17). "Falafelism: This movie will make you ravenous". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  25. ^ Peritz, Ingrid; Ha, Tu Thanh (2002-09-14). "Concordia: A campus in conflict". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  26. ^ "Gastronationalism". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  27. ^ Gaedtke, Felix; Parameswaran, Gayatri. "Food feuds simmer". Aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  28. ^ Michelle Tien King, ed. (2019). Culinary nationalism in Asia. London, UK: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-350-07869-7. OCLC 1100471127.
  29. ^ a b c d e Ichijo, Atsuko; Ranta, Ronald (2016). Food, national identity and nationalism : from everyday to global politics. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-48313-3. OCLC 928396294.
  30. ^ a b Raz, Dan Savery (1 August 2015). "Hunting for hummus in Israel". BBC Travel. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  31. ^ Ari Ariel, "The Hummus Wars", Gastronomica 12:1:34–42 (Spring 2012) doi:10.1525/GFC.2012.12.1.34
  32. ^ Mitnick, Joshua (25 July 2007). "Hummus brings Israelis, Palestinians to the table". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  33. ^ Atsuko Ichijo, Ronald Ranta (2022). Springer (ed.). "Food, National Identity and Nationalism: From Everyday to Global Politics". National Identities. 24 (1): 123. Bibcode:2022NatId..24...74T. doi:10.1080/14608944.2020.1864123.
  34. ^ Hirsch D, Tene O. Hummus: The making of an Israeli culinary cult. Journal of Consumer Culture. 2013;13(1):25-45. doi:10.1177/1469540512474529
  35. ^ HIRSCH, DAFNA (2011). ""Hummus is best when it is fresh and made by Arabs": The gourmetization of hummus in Israel and the return of the repressed Arab". American Ethnologist. 38 (4): 617–630. doi:10.1111/j.1548-1425.2011.01326.x. ISSN 0094-0496. JSTOR 41410422.
  36. ^ Ishita Banerjee-Dube. Cambridge University Press (ed.). Cooking Cultures. p. 51.
  37. ^ Yotam Ottolenghi (29 June 2010). "The perfect hummus debate". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016.
  38. ^ a b c d Marks, Gil (17 November 2010). Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. HMH. ISBN 9780544186316 – via Google Books.
  39. ^ Karam, Zeina, "Hummus war looms between Lebanon and Israel Archived 15 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine", Associated Press, 7 October 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
  40. ^ Wheeler, Carolynne (11 October 2008). "Hummus food fight between Lebanon and Israel". telegraph.co.uk. The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 February 2018.
  41. ^ "Whose hummus is it anyway?", The Times of South Africa, 9 November 2008, archived from the original on 20 November 2008
  42. ^ "Lebanese to Israel: Hands Off Our Hummus!". Haaretz. Associated Press. 24 October 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  43. ^ Anderman, Nirit (26 February 2007). "Musical Comedy on West Bank Wins Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film". Haaretz. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  44. ^ Rutledge, David (11 March 2015). "Make hummus not war". ABC Australia. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  45. ^ a b Ari Ariel, "The Hummus Wars", Gastronomica 12:1:34–42 (Spring 2012) doi:10.1525/GFC.2012.12.1.34
  46. ^ "Israel takes Hummus World Record", Haaretz January 8, 2010; see also Jawdat Ibrahim
  47. ^ a b "Lebanon claims latest title in 'Hummus War'". CNN. 9 May 2010. Archived from the original on 22 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  48. ^ "Lebanon breaks Israel's hummus world record". Gulf News, GN Media. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017.
  49. ^ "Abu Gosh mashes up world's largest hummus". YNet. AFP. 8 January 2010. Archived from the original on 14 January 2010.
  50. ^ "Abu Ghosh secures Guinness world record for largest dish of hummus". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 11 January 2010. Archived from the original on 6 March 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  51. ^ Jack Brockbank (12 January 2010). "The largest serving of hummus". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  52. ^ a b Shalev, Mair (12 January 2001) “The Hummus is Ours” Yedioth Ahronoth: Opinion section [in Hebrew], cited in Nussbaum, Harriet (2021) Hummus: A Global History. pp. 19-21. Note: Nussbaum mistakenly dates Shalev's 2001 article to 2007
  53. ^ Nussbaum, Harriet (2021) Hummus: A Global History. pp. 19-21
  54. ^ Fronzaroli, Pelio (1971). Studi sul lessico comune semitico. Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rendiconti della Classe di Scienze morali, storiche e filologiche, VIII. p. 623, 635, 641
  55. ^ Kogan, Leonid (2011). "Proto-Semitic Lexicon". in Weninger, Stefan and Khan, Geoffrey and Streck, Michael P and Watson, Janet C. E (eds.), The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook, p. 239 of pp. 179–258
  56. ^ "*ḥmṣ̂ - to be sour" in Semitic Etymological Database Online
  57. ^ "Tasty Israeli Salad". Israel Food Guide.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2008.
  58. ^ Levy, Faye (May 28, 1992). "A Salad for This Season". Los Angeles Times.
  59. ^ BBC Cooking in the Danger Zone: Israel and Palestinian Territories, Page 6 "this salad that we call an Israeli Salad, actually it’s an Arab salad, Palestinian salad….”
  60. ^ Joseph Massad, "The Persistence of the Palestinian Question," in Empire & Terror: Nationalism/postnationalism in the New Millennium, Begoña Aretxaga, University of Nevada, Reno Center for Basque Studies, University of Nevada Press, 2005 p. 63
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