Israel Palestine
What are common foods that are eaten in Israel and Palestine?
Like if I go to Israel/Palestine and dine at a family's home. What are some typical meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?
Basically, one can divide Israeli cuisine to two: Ashkenazic and Sephardic. Ashkenazic related to Jewish people from east and west Europe and Sephardic relates to Jewish people from middle east countries. The Sephardic food is full of aromatic spices & herbs, spicier and livelier in general than Ashkenazic cooking which is sweeter. Nowadays we have new Israeli cuisine which combines the two with modern cooking. The style of Jewish cooking reflects the many places that Jews have lived throughout the centuries. Jewish cooking shows the influence of Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Spanish, German and Eastern European styles of cooking, some influenced by the unique dietary Jewish laws.
Many of the foods that we think of as Jewish / Israeli are not unique to Jewish or Israeli culture. Stuffed cabbage, a traditional Jewish dish, is common in Eastern Europe. Blintzes and knishes are familiar to all Germans, not just Jewish ones. Many of the dishes that make up the Israeli cuisine have been brought by immigrants from the countries of their origin. Thus, even though dishes such as couscous, felafel and shishlik are extraordinarily popular throughout the country, none of them can be considered "truly Israel." Couscous, for example, originated in the Maghreb nations of North Africa; the roots of felafel are Egyptian; and shishlik first came from Turkey. Challa is a very sweet, golden, eggy bread. The taste and texture is somewhat similar to egg twist rolls . The loaf is usually braided, but on certain holidays it may be made in other shapes.
Palestinains eat several times during the day, with lunch being the largest meal.s vary by region and each type of cooking style and the ingredients used are generally based on the climate and location of the particular region and on traditions. Rice and variations of kibbee are common, the West Bank engages primarily in heavier meals involving the use of taboon bread, rice and meat and Gaza's inhabitants frequent fish, other seafood, chili peppers and lentils. Meals are usually eaten in the household but dining out has become prominent particularly during parties where light meals like salads, bread dips and skewered meats are served.
The area is also home to many desserts, ranging from those made regularly and those that are commonly reserved for the holidays. Most Palestinain sweets are pastries filled with either sweetened cheeses, dates or various nuts such as almonds, walnuts or pistachios. Beverages could also depend on holidays such as during Ramadan, where carob, tamarind and apricot juices are consumed at sunset. Coffee is consumed throughout the day and liquor is not very prevalent amongst the population, however, some alcoholic beverages such as arak or beer are frequented by Christians and less conservative Muslims.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_cuisine
The Bigotry Of Anti - Israel
The bigotry of anti Israel Facts & Causes
The obvious, or the 'should be obvious'
This is not really all about the Arab Muslim world, who's anti Israel feeling and action is motivated (not by any feeling to help fellow Arab Muslims, fact is, the Arab "Palestinians" are persecuted all throughout the Arab world) by Arab racism (just as the Kurds, Maronites, Sudanese and other non Arabs suffer from the global Arabization) & Islamofascism or Islamic-Fascism, the evil ideology as Tony Blair calls it (just as non Muslims in general, dhimmi or kuffars, non-believers suffer, global wide, take it straight from the horse's mouth, the Iranian fanatical Islamic leader Ahmadinejad's call for genocide & ethnic cleansing on Israel that though has no regional or territorial disputes with Iran of course, "doesn't belong on 'Muslim land', in the all Muslim middle east", this anti-Israel facsism still infects most moderate Muslim countries that blindly refuse entry to anyone with an Israeli passport). Nor is it about the few neo/old Nazis that hate all Jews (even those that tell you they hate "only Zionists"). But this is about the bigotry of anti-Israel infected in the mainstream.
Jumping to conclusion before knowing the facts
This happens on a regular basis, but a few examples might serve as highlights if you wish: The rush into harsh words by UN's Secretary general Kofi Annan (before he semi-apologized for it) when some UN officials got hurt in the cross fire between Huzbullah terrorists and Israeli defense forces (Hezbullah initiated war and invasion 2006), even after realizing that the UN post was used by the Huzbullah as a tool. The overwhelming bashing Israel in Arabs' deaths, like the very icon the "Palestinian" propaganda machine used, as in the Arab kid Muhammad al-Dura (2002), which we all know by now, was nothing more than staged by Arabs themselves, and it was Arab shooters that killed that boy. The rushing media in "blaming Israel" for the death of an Arab family on Gaza beach (2006), again Israel promised/asked to wait until a full investigation is complete, that concluded it was the "Palestinian" Hamas' led mines that brought about that incident. No matter how many times the media sees the transparency in the fake images produced and invented by the 'Palestinians', "PALLYWOOD" (http://seconddraft.org), it seems to "forget", each time a new case appears.
Demanding from Israel the victim of terror more than from the perpetrator
The words an anti-Israel 'activist' told me, resonates throughout this conflict: "I can't expect from the Arabs any better, but Israel/ should know better!". In other words, it is part of demanding from the west ever more then from the Islamic world, when it comes to morality. The only problem is that it is not presented in this open way, it is presented as Israel is the "bad" guy, period. As opposed to endless condemnations by the UN on Israel's self defense, When was the last time the UN has condemned the very Arab "Palestinian" crimes on their own people that they try to pin on Israel, like: Using it's kids as human shields (which Huzbullah, in 2006, picked up very quickly, copied them in their war on Israeli civilians, using Arab civilians) and as human bombs? Legitimizing and even glorifying mass murder and genocide as a 'good holy act' in their mainstream and official media?
The Lie of "natives" is bought
How many have fallen prey to the powerful sell of "indigenous" Arabs in the land of the Judea? The picture of an all out 'Arabs in the middle east', is one of the misconception misleading clarity of history, never forget that most today's 'Palestinians' have no more than 3 generations "history" in this ancient land of the Jews. Absolutely no one has disputed the fact of Arab immigration that saw an upsurge with Zionists' immigration (the latter only, limited by the British) in the late 1800. The fact that the most "Palestinian" - icon of all time: Yasser Arafat was an Egyptian born fighting for "his homeland" in Israel... is so classical. By the same token, it is not well known the fact that over 50% Israeli Jews are of children of indigenous Jews in the middle east (http://jimena.org) .
The Global Goliath Islamo Arab power
The very fact that there was so much talk and selecting/picking on one lobby out of so many different types and different interests - lobbies that operate in Washington but the utter silence on the enormous Islamo Arab lobby that basically occupies, threatens, incorporating so many in their anti-Israel racist boycott, uses oil as a weapon and dictates the international arena, including the UN, shows you just how great of bully they are. So is the fear of European nations for unrest by the Arab Muslim (immigrant) population, (terrorism works!) that effects or rather impairs their stand on the middle east conflict.
The wrong picture of seeing Israel as the "aggressor" and the 'Palestinian Arabs' as the "underdog"
Question # 1: Who has more power, the cynical Arab adult shooting behind a kid's back, behind a woman's squirt, or the Israeli humane soldier facing a terrible dilemma? Question # 2 When you see the biased media showing a tank vs. kid, A) do you ever stop and think what the message is behind it? B) Does this suggest that the Israeli soldier is really after an unarmed person? C) Did you ever stop to think that the very fact that you can see the Israeli soldier but you can NOT see the Arab terrorist makes the invisible much more of a menace? Nothing more like the situation in Iraq (2003-2007) demonstrates that you might have the most powerful army in the world, you are weaker (in many ways) than the invisible coward terrorists hiding among civilians that has no rules of basic regards for ANY human lives.
Outrageous use of baseless drama language and hollow bombastic terms on Israel's multi-racial beautiful democracy
Take for example the admission of anti Israel Arabist: Jimmy Carter that (on December , 2006 - CNN) has admitted that Israel is a great democracy with freedom and equal rights for all, and that (in an interview to Larry King he said that) he used provocative words like "apartheid" (only) in order to provoke discussion. All those bombastic empty words like "racism' or "apartheid" the anti-Israel Arab racist propaganda machine is selling, has of course no support in facts on the ground, there is nothing "racist" about fighting terrorists for being terrorists, there is nothing "apartheid", especially that they are the same Arab race and group, Israeli Arabs and "Palestinian" Arabs, with different identification cards that has nothing but security implications. Since when is concern for security considered "racism"? The same "Judenrein - Palestine" that is trying to ethnic cleanse all Jews, that does not even permit any Jew to live in their 'territories', is lecturing multi-racial, multi-religion, multi-color Israel, that has all colors and races from the darkest black to the whitest blond, that has a whopping 20-25% Arabs in it's population, with equal rights and representations in high offices (and even more rights than Jews, giving the fact that Israeli Jews are obligated to serve in the army whereas Israeli Arabs are not).
The racism behind "questioning" Israel's right to exist
Can you name one other country that is subject to even a question of being 'recognized'? Why do you think it is? If you want to talk about history as a supposed reason, 1) Even if you are a naiive student of 'Palestinian' propaganda in revising history, You don't see anyone denying the unmistakenly settlers like most European, or American or Australians right to exist. 2) speaking even about history, for the record: No matter on which political side you are on, you have no right to deny rights of a nation to exist, no one can ever erase Jews' history to the land of Israel, at the same breath no one can claim that there was ever a sovereign Arab-Muslim "Palestine", in fact, the same nazis or Jew-haters that used to tell the Jews in Europe: 'Go back where you came from, go to Israel-Palestine', the ones continue the evil torch of Nazism today ironically deny the Jews coming back to their original roots-origin.
The dehumanization of Israeli victims
Seeing Israel as nothing but a "tank", is another racist element coming through, in brushing off Israeli victims as a "side details" at best. When was the last time the BBC (for example) has shown any drama pictures of injured Israeli kids at a fraction of the time, passion dedicated to any Arab kid that was killed (usually) because of an Arab adult's fault? Can you remember reporters of the mainstream media visiting Israeli hospitals as much as you can remember them strolling down Arab ones? And Why not? Numbers are not the reason, percentage wise you will see time and time again, Israel loses by far in media's favoritism.
Anti-Israelism and Anti-Semitism: Common Characteristics and Motifs
About the Author
