Hummus Wars: All We Are Saying Is Give Chickpeas a Chance
The humble chickpea is generally considered to have its origins in the Middle East, and hummus is considered to be one of the oldest known prepared foods, dating back to at least 18th century Damascus. Chickpeas were also rather popular in ancient Rome, and rumor has it that one of the ancestors of Roman philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero was given the last name “Cicero,” which comes from the Latin word for chickpea (cicer), as the result of having a bump on his nose that resembled a chickpea. While certainly not the most enchanting of family names, I should think they were probably grateful that the ancestor did not have a bump on his nose that resembled something considerably less innocent than a food staple.
But I digress. As Israelis, we are not denying the history of this most disputed of culinary delights. Indeed, most of us are readily willing to admit that the best hummus in Israel can usually be found in local Arab villages and towns, and the hummus sections in our supermarkets are filled with Arabic-sounding brand names, obviously designed to entice buyers by lending an air of authenticity to the product. That being said, there is also no denying the fact that hummus is a main staple of the Israeli diet. It can be found in restaurants and homes throughout the country. Children bring hummus sandwiches to school. El Al, Israel’s national airline, has offered individual-sized servings on its flights. What Israeli barbecue would be complete without a tub of hummus on the picnic table? While Israel may not be the biological parent, we have, quite happily, adopted it and made it our own, without forgetting its roots for a moment.
Of course, given that large segments of the Israeli population are either Arabs or Jews from Arab countries, it shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone that hummus rose to such dizzying heights of popularity, and to claim that we have “stolen” it is stretching the truth just a wee bit. After all, how can it be considered stealing when it was shared either by people already living here or by people who had themselves come from other countries in the region?
When you think about it, it really is quite tragic to see the lengths to which people — or countries — will go in order to demonstrate their disdain and hatred for others, and I find it to be most unfortunate when people allow that hatred to spiral in the direction of the absurd.
Are people really so full of loathing, so full of revulsion that they find it necessary to turn even the most innocuous of happenings into a point of contention? Can we not build on our mutual love for mashed chickpeas, instead of turning hummus into an unwitting accomplice in a war not of its choosing? Come on, people. All we are saying is give chickpeas a chance.
lol
I remember some latin american fellows telling me that the swiss have “stolen” their chocolate… Well, I guess we’ve stolen the french fries… Yes, And Marco Polo did steal the pasta from China and so on…
This kind of argument is really ridiculous, it has only historic value only if not anecdotal.
“Welcome to globalization” is the usual answer I give to that.
if all the conflicts/rivalities between lebanese and israeli people can be reduced to a “who make the largest plate of humus”, I DO welcome that kind of war.
I hate chickpeas. I love hummus. How is it possible
to hate “the parents” but love “the child”.
The Parisians have the Eiffel Tower, the English, Big Ben. And all we have is falafel.
(from a very popular song in Israel decades ago, v’lánu yesh faláfel).
Ruvy relates, from the popular Israeli song, “The Parisians have the Eiffel Tower, the English, Big Ben. And all we have is felafel.”
It was only a few years ago that the felafel was similarly deemed to have been “stolen” by the Israelis. Seriously, we’re dealing with dysfunctional societies desperate for something, anything, they can be proud of.
I think you have even stolen the olive branch that you offer to them. Ha! Why don’t you just cooperate and let them sweep you into the sea.
it does really say a lot about how the arabs claim everything as their own.
even their religion is a perversion of previous religions.
I looked it up on You Tube and found this tune, a tune nearly as old as me. It was the first song I learned about Israel that was not hava negila or something of that nature.
Some of the lyrics (in Hebrew) are as you see them below:
לכל מדינה כאן בעולם,
מאכל לאומי המוכר לכולם,
וכל ילד בגן יודע כי
האוכל מקרוני הוא איטלקי.
לאוסטרים בוינה שניצל טעים,
והצרפתים אוכלים צפרדעים.
הסינים אוכלים אורז דק ורזה,
והקניבלים אוכלים זה את זה
ולנו יש פלאפל,
פלאפל, פלאפל,
לאבא מתנה
גם אמא כאן קונה,
לסבתא הזקנה
נקנה חצי מנה.
וגם החותנת היום תקבל
פלאפל, פלאפל
עם הרבה הרבה פילפל.
פעם כשבא יהודי לישראל
נשק לאדמה וברך ה”גומל”.
היום, הוא רק יורד מן המטוס
וכבר קונה פלפל ושותה גזוז.
אצלנו אין מלך, יש רק נשיא,
אבל במלוכה כבר השגנו שיא.
אצלנו כל יום קם מלך חדש -
אחד “מאושר” השני “מיואש”.
כי לנו יש פלאפל,
פלאפל, פלאפל.
כי כאן מוכרים לרוב,
מריח כל הרחוב
ריחות של שומשומין
ושמן פרפין.
וגם צרבת אפשר פה לקבל
מפלאפל, פלאפל
עם הרבה הרבה הרבה פילפל
פלאפל לעשות זה לא פשוט,
פלאפל לעשות זאת אומנות,
ויוכל להבחין כל בן תימן
בין פלאפל של חובב או של אמן.
המצחיק ביותר הוא, אללה אל עזים,
פלאפל עשוי בידי אשכנזים!
בפלאפל כזה תמיד תרגיש
מין טעם מוזר של געפילטע פיש.
In this tune you see some really old Hebrew words, words from a bygone era – the word gazóz was the word for carbonated water. At the time, carbonated water was served separate from the syrup (as it had been in the United States a decade earlier in the 1940′s), and mixed together – voilá – soda.
The problem (and it is largely unacknowledged) is that the Arab mind (for lack of a better term) and Arab culture (ditto) is largely influenced by Arab emotions, reinforced by tyrannical societies that encourage emotionalism instead of thoughtful reflection, spawned by a religion that refuses to tolerate thoughtful restraint on even the most murderous of emotions.
Of course it is an arabic food. But Hummus Shmummus.
You havent lived until you have walked the entire promonade along the beach from Tel-Aviv to Jaffa in the wee hours of the morning to end up at Abulafia, the legendary 24-hour Arab bakery, to feast on warm fresh sambusac (sort of a calazone filled with eggs, potatoes and other stuff).
Food is something we can agree on. Good food is a celebration of life. On the walk down the beach you might have also stopped for an american style burger, some italian gelato, and maybe a few shots of russian vodka, all of these are popular there.
Silly of these people to turn it into something negative. Eat, enjoy, maybe with full bellies nobody will feel so much like throwing rocks or worse.
Spindok
“Are people really so full of loathing, so full of revulsion that they find it necessary to turn even the most innocuous of happenings into a point of contention?”
Yes.
woah I love falafel
and swiss chocolate too
I don’t respect any Greek restaurant that doesn’t serve hummus and falafel. Greek origins according to Homer. Simpsonopolis. Famed writer of Epics.
I’ve never had hummus that tasted good to me. I love chickpeas so there has GOT to be a recipe out there that will turn me into a hummus addict.
The so-called theft of food is “small potatoes” (sorry) when you compare it to Mohammed’s wholesale theft of Judaism, which he then proceeded to twist into a form which mirrored his own mental pathology and such predelictions as consummating a marriage with a six-year-old when she turned nine. Just sayin’…
And Chicken Tikka Masala is the now the dish of the UK.
What’s their point?
The point? It’s funny!
The Arabs learned how to cook from the Byzantine empire, which they over-ran in the 7th century C.E. Before that they were just a bunch of nomads wandering the desert.
Here is the correct method of handling claims of artistic priority:
Just before we go, I’d like to mention Junior Wells*
We stole his thing from him, and he from someone else
He plays the blues like few before, may he play forevermore
‘TIGHTEN UP YOUR WIG’ from “The Second” by Steppenwolf (1968), Words and music by John Kay
Junior Wells (1932 – 1998)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Wells
Thanks for a funny article with serious undertones. How pathetic that Arabs feel the need to start a fight over something as stupid as hummus. Humor is the right weapon to deal with them, since they seem to be born with no sense of humor at all.
What you fellows don’t realise is that – you’re making a much bigger deal about the “Hummus world record” than the Lebanese do. Seriously. It’s actually quite amusing.
And, PJM, well done removing the clause banning hate speech. That really determines what kind of website you are. Bravo.
Israeli humus and felafel are different in taste and texture from Lebanese h&f. Lebanese humus is like a thick paste. Israeli humus is more like a dip in texture. Lebanese felafels are bigger, denser and saltier than their Israeli counterpart. Israeli felafels are spherical, airier and more delicate in flavour. Israeli felafels are served in a thick pita which opens like a pocket. Lebanese felafels are served in thin pita like a wrap.
Israeli felafel and humus bear the same evolutionary relationship to their Arab cousins that the American pizza bears to original Italian pizza.
Many Arabs like to call Israeli Jews thieves and express contempt towards them upon the filmiest of excuses, as illustrated by Mo-ha-med. Arabs are also eager to find grievances and would never miss a chance to be insulted or feel wronged. Someone might have suggested to them that imitation is a form of praise, and the fact that Israelis have adopted these foods might be seen as a compliment to Arab culinary savvy. But no. Better get into a fine dudgeon and whip up some anger and sarcasm, why not.
hummas is soylent green
This sort of thing is not uncommon, alas. There is an on-line magazine, The Gilded Serpent, devoted to Middle Eastern dance and music. Several years ago its letters column featured one in response to an article about belly dance in Israel by accusing Israel of stealing this dance form, wrenching it away from its true culture.
They do belly dance in Sweden and China and the writer didn’t seem to find that a cultural assault.
Many foods have made transitions from one culture to another, especially in their names. Most people think “Pumpernickle” bread must be German, but in fact, it was an Austrian pronunciation of what they heard Napoleon say when, served the peasant fare instead of bleached-flour white bread while conquering part of that country, he declamed this as “Pas pour moi! Ca c’est pain pour Nicole!” (Nicole, for whom the bread/pain was for/pour was his commoner concubine, you see.)
Meanwhile, the obvious answer to the question “Why do radicalized politicized Arabs complain about Israeli hummus?” is obviously the classic “Because they don’t know the words….for peace.”
Hummus sure is tasty, in any case. It’s the perfect snack to eat while you sit back in your air conditioned room watching a Hollywood movie.
I love hummus but can I be certain the vendor I buy it from will not someday blow me away with a strapped on explosive device? Not really. That is how Islamic jihadists are messing with our minds. I think that’s more important than worrying about the ethnicity of chick peas, garlic and olive oil, etc.. I make my own hummus and it’s damn good. And I’m Scots-Irish!
Liza, you’re on the right track, now let’s deal with deliberate war loser hyper-estrogenated old woman Barak, drooling slobbering insane person Peres, and the dangerously treacherous Tsipimonster who’s just waiting in the wings…
The Hommos is 100% Lebanese.
http://www.lebanese-forces.com/web/MoreNews.aspx?newsid=64727