The New York Times · New York, New York · 10 July 2002

CP-2002-088

A History of the Mideast In the Humble Chickpea

A common food like falafel can unite or divide.

By JODI KANTOR

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Transcribed from the clipping

THE last time you bit into a falafel sandwich you were probably thinking about nothing more than the warm spice and crunch of the chickpea fritters and the way they played against the soft bread, crisp vegetables and nutty tahini sauce. Unless you’re Palestinian, in which case you may have had weightier culinary issues on your mind.

Many Palestinians believe that Israelis have stolen falafel, a traditional Arab food, and passed it off as what postcards at tourist kiosks all over Israel call “Israel’s National Snack.”

“We always sort of look at each other and roll our eyeballs when we pass a restaurant that says ‘Israeli falafel,’” said Rashid Khalidi, a Palestinian-American and a professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of Chicago. Some do more than roll eyeballs.

Aziz Shihab, a Palestinian-American and the author of the cookbook “A Taste of Palestine,” once picked an argument with the owners of an Israeli restaurant in Dallas that served falafel. “This is my mother’s food,” he said. “This is my grandfather’s food. What do you mean you’re serving it as your food?”

It’s nice to think that sharing a cherished food brings enemies together, easing tension and misunderstanding. But the world’s rawest conflicts can include disagreements over common foodstuffs. Irish Catholics and Protestants have lightly bickered over whiskey. Turks and Greeks have feuded over coffee.

And Jews and Arabs argue about falafel in a way that reflects the wider conflict, touching on debates over territory and history. “Food always migrates according to immigration and commerce,” said Yael Raviv, an Israeli student at New York University who wrote her Ph.D. thesis on Israeli nationalism and cuisine.

“But because of the political situation, falafel has taken on enormous significance.”

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• The dish, the thread, the wood

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