Between Christmas and New Year’s day, I became embroiled in what The Jerusalem Post termed a “Twitter war” which they claimed “raised eyebrows on both sides of the Atlantic”.
What started the heated exchange was my response to a tweet by celebrity chef Rachael Ray in which she called “Israeli” – ”meze, stuffed grape leaves, hummus, beet dip, eggplant and sun-dried tomato dip, walnut and red pepper dip, and tabouli”.
I hadn’t intended a war, but my blood boiled when I saw Ray’s tweet and so I tweeted a response – ”Damn it! This is cultural genocide. It’s not Israeli food. It’s Arab (Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian, Jordanian, etc.). First, the Israelis take the land and ethnically cleanse it of Arabs. Now they take their food and culture and claim it’s theirs too! Shame.” The responses to my tweet were immediate involving attacks by prominent American and Israeli columnists and the head of an American Jewish organisation. Most criticisms were downright silly, some were threatening, while others were just crude insults. All of them missed the point.
The silly ones either wanted to reduce the entire brouhaha to “who invented hummus” or confused cultural exchange and sharing with outright appropriation. No, I noted, making pizza or spaghetti in the US is not cultural genocide, unless the US were to occupy Italy and then claim these foods as “American”. And, I responded to the foolish tweet by New York Times columnist, Bret Stephens, that if I used Instant Messaging or Waze (both of which were invented in Israel) I would not be engaging in cultural appropriation, unless I used them, then claimed these tools as my own, and started referring to them as Lebanese inventions.
Of course, I recognise that a significant number of Israelis come from Arab countries and I realise that they brought their cuisine with them from Yemen, Iraq, Morocco, Egypt, etc. But that doesn’t make Yemeni, Iraqi, Moroccan or Egyptian dishes “Israeli”, any more than pizza, tacos, sushi and fried rice can be called “American” simply because Italians, Mexicans, Japanese and Chinese brought them to the US.
And no, my argument is not anti-Semitic, nor does it imply a rejection of the existence of Israel. In fact, what prompted my reaction was Israel’s denial of a Palestinian people, appropriation of their land and now of their culture.
With the creation of the State of Israel, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled and denied the right to return to their homes and properties. The new state then confiscated their businesses and lands and demolished 385 Palestinian villages.
So this “twitter war” was never about the denial of Israel’s existence. It was about Israel’s denial of Palestinian existence – a process that continues today within Israel and, in an increasingly aggressive way, in the occupied West Bank. For example, Bethlehem’s Jabal Abul Ghneim, a once green hill to the north of the town, has been confiscated by Israel and walled off from Bethlehem’s residents. It is now the site of the illegally built Jewish-only colony of Har Homa, and has been incorporated into what Israel refers to as “Greater Jerusalem”.
It was, therefore, not “who invented hummus” that caused me to react. Rather, it was Israel’s appropriation of Palestinian land, eradication of their presence, and now the effort to be the sole claimants of their culture that prompted my response to Ray’s “Israeli food” tweet. This was cultural appropriation by conquest.
A personal experience comes to mind: Four decades ago, my children went to a Halloween party at the elementary school they were attending in suburban Washington. I remember how upset they were that other children were dressed as “Arabs”, some carrying oil cans or toy guns. A few weeks later, the school hosted an “ethnic festival” and asked the children to dress in their ethnic attire and to bring food representing their heritage. Because of their Halloween experience and the taunting they sometimes endured, my children said they would go to the event, but were hesitant to dress up or bring anything that would associate them as being of Arab descent. At the event we noted a table set up with a card saying that it was “Israeli” featuring hummus, baba ghanouj, and tabouli. Behind the table was a young girl in a lovely embroidered dress – the pattern of which was unique to Ramallah.
If Israelis and Palestinians are to co-exist in peace – and I pray they will – it must be based on respect. That means that efforts to eliminate the Palestinian reality must end, their rights must be recognised and restored, and respect must be shown to all of the cultures that now mix in the Holy Land – Israeli Jewish (from lands East and West) and Palestinian Arab.
I hadn’t intended a war, but my blood boiled when I saw Ray’s tweet and so I tweeted a response – ”Damn it! This is cultural genocide. It’s not Israeli food. It’s Arab (Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian, Jordanian, etc.). First, the Israelis take the land and ethnically cleanse it of Arabs. Now they take their food and culture and claim it’s theirs too! Shame.” The responses to my tweet were immediate involving attacks by prominent American and Israeli columnists and the head of an American Jewish organisation. Most criticisms were downright silly, some were threatening, while others were just crude insults. All of them missed the point.
The silly ones either wanted to reduce the entire brouhaha to “who invented hummus” or confused cultural exchange and sharing with outright appropriation. No, I noted, making pizza or spaghetti in the US is not cultural genocide, unless the US were to occupy Italy and then claim these foods as “American”. And, I responded to the foolish tweet by New York Times columnist, Bret Stephens, that if I used Instant Messaging or Waze (both of which were invented in Israel) I would not be engaging in cultural appropriation, unless I used them, then claimed these tools as my own, and started referring to them as Lebanese inventions.
Of course, I recognise that a significant number of Israelis come from Arab countries and I realise that they brought their cuisine with them from Yemen, Iraq, Morocco, Egypt, etc. But that doesn’t make Yemeni, Iraqi, Moroccan or Egyptian dishes “Israeli”, any more than pizza, tacos, sushi and fried rice can be called “American” simply because Italians, Mexicans, Japanese and Chinese brought them to the US.
And no, my argument is not anti-Semitic, nor does it imply a rejection of the existence of Israel. In fact, what prompted my reaction was Israel’s denial of a Palestinian people, appropriation of their land and now of their culture.
With the creation of the State of Israel, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled and denied the right to return to their homes and properties. The new state then confiscated their businesses and lands and demolished 385 Palestinian villages.
So this “twitter war” was never about the denial of Israel’s existence. It was about Israel’s denial of Palestinian existence – a process that continues today within Israel and, in an increasingly aggressive way, in the occupied West Bank. For example, Bethlehem’s Jabal Abul Ghneim, a once green hill to the north of the town, has been confiscated by Israel and walled off from Bethlehem’s residents. It is now the site of the illegally built Jewish-only colony of Har Homa, and has been incorporated into what Israel refers to as “Greater Jerusalem”.
It was, therefore, not “who invented hummus” that caused me to react. Rather, it was Israel’s appropriation of Palestinian land, eradication of their presence, and now the effort to be the sole claimants of their culture that prompted my response to Ray’s “Israeli food” tweet. This was cultural appropriation by conquest.
A personal experience comes to mind: Four decades ago, my children went to a Halloween party at the elementary school they were attending in suburban Washington. I remember how upset they were that other children were dressed as “Arabs”, some carrying oil cans or toy guns. A few weeks later, the school hosted an “ethnic festival” and asked the children to dress in their ethnic attire and to bring food representing their heritage. Because of their Halloween experience and the taunting they sometimes endured, my children said they would go to the event, but were hesitant to dress up or bring anything that would associate them as being of Arab descent. At the event we noted a table set up with a card saying that it was “Israeli” featuring hummus, baba ghanouj, and tabouli. Behind the table was a young girl in a lovely embroidered dress – the pattern of which was unique to Ramallah.
If Israelis and Palestinians are to co-exist in peace – and I pray they will – it must be based on respect. That means that efforts to eliminate the Palestinian reality must end, their rights must be recognised and restored, and respect must be shown to all of the cultures that now mix in the Holy Land – Israeli Jewish (from lands East and West) and Palestinian Arab.