Israel Beats Lebanese Hummus Dish Record

The origin of Hummus is not precisely known. It is Levantine and an centuries-old Arab delicacy probably originating in modern-day Lebanon.

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A simple dish it is simultaneous malleable to a great many varieties - and nearly all incredibly delicious (spicy is the best!). And it is also at the center of a Middle East Food War. Hummus is Arab, but Israelis still love it. And the best Hummus places in Israel are owned by Palestinians. Although Israelis would concede that Hummus is Arab, two Israelis firms have nearly monopolized the American Hummus market.

This has irritated the Lebanese who claim that Israel is marketing Hummus as Israeli and thus robbing Lebanese firms of millions of dollars. Lebanon is seeking legal recourse to prevent Israel from selling anything under the label of Hummus akin to Greece’s sole use of feta cheese, France’s champagne and Italy’s Parmesan. The Land of Cedars has done more than that: it recently cooked the largest Hummus plate in an affirmation of its culinary heritage and in an effort to exclusively claim Hummus.

Lebanese has justice on its side. Israel is built on the disposition and continued occupation and murder of Arabs; to say nothing of the vilification of Arabs by Israel and Zionists. It has stolen Arab lands and seeks to steal Arab culture as well. This nation, more than any, does not have the right to profit from Arab culture. But Lebanon does not have a claim to exclusive marketing. Because the exact origin of Hummus is ambiguous all Arab Levantine nations (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan) have an equal claim to Hummus.

Israel is not giving up though, and recently cooked an even bigger dish that has stolen the record from Lebanon:

The cooks doubled the previous record for the world's biggest serving of hummus, set in October by cooks in Lebanon. That record broke an earlier Israeli record and briefly put Lebanon ahead.

Hundreds of jubilant Israelis, a mix of Arabs and Jews, gathered around the giant dish in the town of Abu Ghosh near Jerusalem on Friday, many of them dancing as a singer performed an Arabic love song to the beige chickpea paste.

Granted the dish was cooked by Palestinians living in Israel, but it is still all obnoxious since it falls under the label of "Israel". And Israelis are incredibly crude in their refusal to respect Lebanon's and the Arab world's claim. Lebanon is fighting back:

Lebanese tourism minister Fadi Abboud told The Associated Press that his country plans to beat the new record in the spring with an even bigger plate of hummus prepared on the border with Israel. "This way they can learn how to do hummus," he said.

At some point, this will all become ridiculous, but for now it is still fun.

Memo to Israelis: Get your own land and your own culture! If you hate Arabs so much, then stop eating are foods! After your crimes, the Arabs do not want to have a cultural exchange with you and stop pretending that Hummus is some Israeli delicacy (your Zionist delusions notwithstanding)!!!