
Monday, November 15, 2021
Monday, November 15, 2021
Elder of Ziyon
After seeing another idiotic tweet about how Israel is stealing Palestinian cuisine (and, no, shakshuka is in no way Palestinian) I wondered what it would be like if Jews were as insecure about their food inventions as Arabs seem to be.
Think about Kariot.
Kariot is an Israeli cereal that placed chocolate or nougat inside a pillow-shaped grain cereal. (Kariot means "pillows.")
It was created in Israel in 1994. A very similar cereal was introduced in the US by Kellogg's as Krave in 2012 after success in Europe.
Kellogg's has stolen an Israeli food!
Nowhere in their literature do they mention the origin of their cereal. One would think it is ...American! (Or British!)
Cultural appropriation! Disrespect for Israeli culture! Theft of sugary breakfast innovations!
Imagine how utterly stupid that would sound. No one would take it seriously. But there have been hundreds of articles decrying Israelis putting their own twist on foods like falafel and shakshuka, using the term "Israeli salad," freaking out over their popularizing hummus worldwide with the brand name Sabra.
Food, like language, moves and morphs as it goes through different cultures and geographies. No one owns it. Jews would be amused if Palestinians claimed Bissli or matzah or sabich as their own. And if they make a sabich that is better than the Israeli version, or if they want to make a new Palestinian food that uses cherry tomatoes, great.
Yemenis don't accuse Saudis of stealing their foods, nor do Turks get upset when their cultural foods are consumed throughout the Arab world. The constant accusations of "cultural theft" are only hurled at Israel.
Cuisines always change as they move through time and place. So does antisemitism.

Related Posts:
04/21 Links Pt2: Don't 'All Lives Matter' the Holocaust; Lawsuits are key to fighting antisemitism; Yom Ha’atzmaut echoes in ‘The Mandalorian’From Ian: Don't 'All Lives Matter' the Holocaust - opinion IT IS a basic human instinct to seek ways to connect events that appear, on the surface, to be similar to one another. But to do so when it comes to collective memor… Read More
Haaretz logic: Jews should give up on their holy places if Palestinians violently oppose themHaaretz has an exclusive: One of their reporters, Hagar Shezaf, managed to visit Joseph's Tomb along with Jewish pilgrims last November. It is unclear why it took five months to write this report. Perhaps to make the rel… Read More
04/23 Links: Jordanian MP arrested by Israel on suspicion of smuggling weapons; No, Israel Did Not Rig the 2016 Election; UK Labour suspends Diane Abbott after letter claiming Jews do not suffer racismFrom Ian: Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Issues of Concern Hamas is an enemy [of Israel], but it is a much weaker enemy than Iran, which is determined to go ahead and develop nuclear weapons with the sole objective of destroying Israel...… Read More
04/22 Links: Paris court hands Canadian life term in absentia for 1980 synagogue blast; s trial to start, Pittsburgh Jews find renewed purpose in mourning synagogue attackFrom Ian: Seth Frantzman: Israel at 75: How the Jewish state compares to other countries In 1851, 75 years after the US Declaration of Independence, a crowd gathered in the shadow of the US Capitol. They had come to lay a co… Read More
04/24 Links Pt1: Ruthie Blum: Tears of heartbreak and joy; Danny Danon: Grieving together for our fallen heroes; Jerusalem terror attack: Seven wounded in car ramming, terrorist killedFrom Ian: Danny Danon: Grieving together for our fallen heroes This year, Israel’s annual Remembrance Day for the Fallen Soldiers of the Wars of Israel will have a special meaning. At the height of a polarizing political st… Read More