FIVE THINGS ABOUT A HANUKKAH TREAT

1 HEALTH CAMPAIGN

Israelis are finding a new campaign by their crusading health minister hard to swallow: in the name of proper nutrition, he has gone on the warpath against the nation’s beloved Hanukkah tradition of gorging on sugar-laden, deep-fried, jam-filled doughnuts.“I call on the public to avoid eating sufganiyot, which are rich in fats,”Yaakov Litzman told a conference last week promoting healthy eating.

2 THE MINISTER

As head of a powerful ultra-Orthodox political party, the bearded and black-coated Litzman considers himself a guardian of Jewish traditions. But in his other hat, he’s a healthconscious official on a mission to stamp out junk food and child obesity. Litzman has campaigned before to have sugary drinks removed from schools and has taken on fast-food giant McDonald’s.

3 THE TRADITION

For most Israelis, eating the sufgania is as essential to celebrating Hanukkah as lighting the menorah and spinning the dreidel. Along with the latke — a fried potato pancake — it is the delicacy most associated with the holiday.

4 THE CULPRIT

A sufgania is essentially a ball of dough deep fried in oil, packed with strawberry jelly and sprinkled with sugar. In recent years, it has become trendy for bakeries to offer embellished versions topped with marshmallows, crumbled cookies, pralines and whipped cream.

5 THE RESISTANCE

Many are resisting Litzman’s campaign. “You have to eat it, but in proportion. It’s yummy, it’s good, it’s the season,” said Gideon Haba, a doughnut seller in Jerusalem. “I don’t believe he (Litzman) meant it. It’s like not lighting the candles. He just wanted to send a message.”