I wonder what Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah has to say about this.
An ongoing feud between Israeli and Lebanese chefs ratcheted up another notch this week, with a new world record broken outside of Jerusalem for the creation of the largest tub of hummus.
The dish, created in Abu Gosh in Israel, comes months after a group of Lebanese chefs broke the record in an effort to “reclaim” the dish as Lebanese and not Israeli. Moreover, businessmen in Lebanon sued Israeli manufacturers for what they call fraudulently advertising hummus as an Israeli product.
One potential solution would be for Israel to name the dish something else, as hummus is Lebanese nomenclature, one man suggested.
The food nationality problem is somewhat specific to Israel, as many of the country’s residents came to the Israel from various other places, bringing their own traditions along. The only unifying thing for many citizens is religion, and even holiday foods often differ between individuals from certain countries. The foods we generally think of as Israeli are often from other places in the Middle East (tehini- ancient Persia; falafel- Egypt; shawarma- Turkey; sabich-Iraq, etc… although, I’m sure some countries would protest these areas of origin, citing their own nationality as the true creator of these delicious goodies).
Maybe Israel can mass market gefilte fish, kugel, and stuffed cabbage as distinctly Israeli, although even these foods originated in Europe. Or maybe, the country could trademark a style of food preparation and restaurant etiquette- charming and surly service (TM Israel).
Unfortunately, though, the Israelis used an old satellite dish as the bowl for their tasty treat. The lack of sanitation seems to fit right in with the general level of cleanliness at most hummuserias in Israel.
Tension on Israel’s northern border has long been an issue. Hezbollah and Israeli officials have verbally spared over the past year, although the conflict has not formally escalated into an all-out battle since the Second Lebanon War in 2006 (apparently, some people are calling the Hummus fracas the Third Lebanon War).
Moreover, Israel is preparing to withdraw from part of the city of Ghajar, a border town that both Israel and Lebanon have staked some claims to. Following reports of an Israeli withdrawal from the northern half of the city, villagers protested that the move would divide the city in two.
(Full disclosure- when I buy hummus, even in Israel, I try to get the kind labeled as Lebanese. Sorry! I just like it a bit better.)
Photo taken from NPR.
