Great essay, thank you. I have a few things to add:
Jewish food in America is Ashkenazi food, because 95 perecent of all Jews in the US came here from Europe and Eastern Europe, and this is what they ate -- as Layla points out!
They were part of a great white migration here, which discriminated against Jews of Color. Israel, on the other h…
Great essay, thank you. I have a few things to add:
Jewish food in America is Ashkenazi food, because 95 perecent of all Jews in the US came here from Europe and Eastern Europe, and this is what they ate -- as Layla points out!
They were part of a great white migration here, which discriminated against Jews of Color. Israel, on the other hand, is half Mizrahi and Sephardic now -- mostly because Jews of Color had to leave other countries and had no where else to go.
The unfortunate part of that migration is that the foods of their countries (Iraq, Turkey, Morocco etc.) are now all called Israeli food.
My ancestors are Iraqi Jews. I got into an argument with the NY Times when they posted a recipe for Iraqi-Jewish food they called "Middle Eastern." Eventually they changed it to "Israeli," which is still inaccurate. Iraqi Jews still eat their food in Israel, just as Ashkenazi Jews still eat their food here. Soon all these dishes will disappear, which is what also happens with Palestinian food in Israel, also called "Israeli."
In the US, when you go out for Chinese food, you don't say "I'm going for American food." Each immigrant's food is distinct. Not sure why it is not the same in Israel.
Layla, thanks for the Al Jazeera link about mizrahi being an offensive term. I did not realize this.
Great essay, thank you. I have a few things to add:
Jewish food in America is Ashkenazi food, because 95 perecent of all Jews in the US came here from Europe and Eastern Europe, and this is what they ate -- as Layla points out!
They were part of a great white migration here, which discriminated against Jews of Color. Israel, on the other hand, is half Mizrahi and Sephardic now -- mostly because Jews of Color had to leave other countries and had no where else to go.
The unfortunate part of that migration is that the foods of their countries (Iraq, Turkey, Morocco etc.) are now all called Israeli food.
My ancestors are Iraqi Jews. I got into an argument with the NY Times when they posted a recipe for Iraqi-Jewish food they called "Middle Eastern." Eventually they changed it to "Israeli," which is still inaccurate. Iraqi Jews still eat their food in Israel, just as Ashkenazi Jews still eat their food here. Soon all these dishes will disappear, which is what also happens with Palestinian food in Israel, also called "Israeli."
In the US, when you go out for Chinese food, you don't say "I'm going for American food." Each immigrant's food is distinct. Not sure why it is not the same in Israel.
Layla, thanks for the Al Jazeera link about mizrahi being an offensive term. I did not realize this.