Israel’s cultural genocide
First, the Israelis took the land and ethnically cleansed it of Arabs. Now, they have usurped Arab cuisine and culture and claim them to be theirs too
etween Christmas and New Year’s Day, I became embroiled in what the Jerusalem Post termed as 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 referred to “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.”
I should note that this wasn’t the first time that Ray became embroiled in a situation that involved a negation of Palestinian/Arab culture. Back in 2008, she had appeared in a TV advertisement for Dunkin’ Donuts, sporting what appeared tobea keffiyeh. After a barrage of attacks by right-wing Islamophobes, who said the scarf was a symbol of “murderous Palestinian jihad”, Dunkin’ Donuts cancelled the ad. Because that entire affair evolved so rapidly and the company reacted so quickly, we were unable to offer a rejoinder. The recent flap, however, “cut to the quick”. I had to reply. And so I did.
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 (demanding that I be expelled from the Democratic Party), while others were just crude insults (“ludicrous”,”anti-Semitic bigot”). 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 United States 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, 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.
With the creation 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. As Yousuf Munayyer noted, it was Israel that sought to systematically erase Palestinian history — “Place names, street names, historical markers were changed. Forests have literally been planted above the ruins of our villages, obfuscating the very remnants of our history and the grave of our ancestors”.
‘Twitter war’
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 West Bank.
It was 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.
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 take anything along with them that would associate them as being of Arab descent.
If Israelis and Palestinians are to coexist in peace, 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.
Dr James J. Zogby is the president of Arab American Institute.