The Israeli-Arab Food Fight
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by News Editor
Telegraph – Most are familiar with the Israeli-Arab conflict over land, but the all-consuming dispute has now expanded to a row over the “ownership” of the region’s cuisine.
At the centre of the controversy is the humble falafel – a spicy fried rissole made from mashed chick peas or beans. The dish, a staple for Jews and Arabs alike, has become the latest political football in the delegitimisation of Israel. The anti-Israel activists’ puerile playground whine that “Israel stole all the falafels” would be funny if it didn’t represent a denial of Jewish history – that of the Mizrahi, or Middle Eastern Jews, who have always eaten falafel.