Israeli Researcher: Hummus Is an Authentic Arab Dish
Hummus has never been a dish of mysterious or unknown origin whose roots or cultural identity are open to dispute. For centuries, it has been a staple of Arab cuisine, particularly in Palestine and the Levant, where it has long been deeply intertwined with everyday life and the region’s social and culinary heritage. It was only in later decades that Israel began attempting to present it to the world as part of “Israeli cuisine.”
What is particularly striking, however, is that this narrative has now been challenged not by Arab researchers or Palestinian institutions, but from within Israeli academia itself.
How Did the Israeli Researcher Describe the Origins of Hummus?
Israeli professor Dafna Hirsch, in her book The Israeli Career of Hummus: Colonial Appropriation, Authenticity, and Distinction published by Indiana University Press, stated that until 1948, hummus was an exclusively Arab dish and was not part of the food culture of most Jewish settlers who had come to Palestine from Europe.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted Hirsch as saying that “until 1948, hummus was an Arab dish that most Jewish settlers arriving from Europe did not eat”—an academic assessment that challenges the narrative seeking to associate the dish with Israeli identity from the early days of the Zionist project.
Hirsch explains that Jewish immigrants arriving from Eastern and Western Europe brought with them culinary traditions that differed from those of the region. Hummus was neither part of their traditional diet nor a component of their native cuisines. Rather, they became familiar with it after settling in Palestine and coming into contact with Palestinian Arab society, where hummus was already a deeply rooted part of everyday food culture.
Over the years, local Arab foods began to be adopted and repackaged as part of the emerging Israeli national identity, within the broader context of reshaping the country’s cultural landscape following the Palestinian Nakba of 1948.
Other Palestinian Dishes Attributed to “Israeli Cuisine”
This process was not limited to hummus. It also extended to other Palestinian and Arab dishes, including falafel, maqluba, knafeh, and musakhan. These foods had long been associated with Palestinian cuisine decades before the establishment of the State of Israel, yet were later promoted at international exhibitions and through tourism and advertising campaigns as products of “Israeli cuisine.”
What Historical Evidence Supports the Arab Origins of Hummus?
The Arab roots of hummus are supported by historical evidence that predates the State of Israel by centuries. Recipes using chickpeas, tahini, and similar ingredients appeared in medieval Arabic cookbooks, while such dishes have been associated with Levantine, Egyptian, and Iraqi cuisines for generations, becoming an integral part of the region’s culinary identity.
In Palestine specifically, hummus has occupied a central place in social and economic life, whether in homes, markets, or popular restaurants. Over time, it became one of the most internationally recognized symbols of Palestinian cuisine.
Why Does the Hummus Debate Go Beyond Food?
For Palestinians, attempts to attribute hummus to Israel are therefore viewed as part of a broader effort to reshape the historical and cultural narrative of the Palestinian people—not only in relation to land and geography, but also to memory, heritage, and identity.
In the Palestinian consciousness, the appropriation of culinary heritage cannot be separated from attempts to appropriate other elements of national heritage, from traditional clothing and embroidery to names, songs, and various cultural symbols.
Dafna Hirsch’s assessment carries particular significance because it comes from an Israeli researcher working within Israeli academia itself. Her work offers a clear acknowledgment that hummus was not part of the culture of the European Jewish settlers who came to Palestine, but rather an authentic Arab dish that was later adopted and incorporated into a new national narrative.
While narratives can be distorted and political discourse rewritten, the cultural memory of peoples often proves far more resistant to erasure. For Palestinians and Arabs, hummus remains an authentic Arab dish—one that carries the flavor of the land, its history, and its memory, long before settler-colonial projects sought to redefine it or sever it from its original roots.
Read More:
ShortURL ⬇
