We Won the Latest Battle in the Hummus War

Shalom Yeladim:
You won’t believe this – Lebanon has declared a “Hummus War” against us. If you’ve ever eaten hummus, you know it’s delicious. I love taking a dip in this mashed up mixture of chickpeas, olive oil, sesame paste, lemon juice and garlic. It’s not only healthy, it’s fun to eat because you don’t use a fork or a spoon. You scoop it up with pita bread. So why have the Lebanese declared a “Hummus War” on Israel? Here’s the scoop. It began a year-and-a-half ago when some Lebanese businessmen took Israel to court. They said that Israel was making and selling hummus as an Israeli food and because of that, Lebanon, the originator of hummus, is losing millions of business dollars. It’s true that hummus is eaten all across the Middle East and its popularity has spread (oh, I’m having fun with this) to Europe and the United States. But to say it was originally made in Lebanon???!!! That’s like saying the Egyptians can sue the world for making bread because rolls and bread loaves have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. But the Lebanese insisted and they went on to prepare a HUGE plate of hummus weighing over two tons. They told their fellow countrymen to “Come fight for your bite. You know you’re right.” They fought to have the largest bowl of hummus in the world by making a new Guiness World Record, and they won. But the victory proved to be an uphill battle because last week we slam dunked them. There’s an Israeli-Arab village near Jerusalem called Abu Gosh. In Israel, this town is known as the hummus capital and the owner of the most famous hummus restaurant was not bowled over by the Lebanese success. “We can do better than that,” he declared, “much better.” An Israeli telecommunications company gave the restaurant a satellite dish 20 feet in diameter to fill with hummus. A week ago Friday, people living in Abu Gosh and all over Israel came to the restaurant to make hummus with their own hands. All together they used 2.5 tons of chickpeas, 1.5 tons of sesame paste, hundreds of freshly squeezed lemons and a vat of crushed garlic. A Guinness official was present and at the end of the day Israel’s Abu Gosh Restaurant broke the Lebanese record with a new record breaking 4-ton hummus dip. So here’s what I have to say to the Lebanese: Stop the war and let’s make chickpeace.

Hey…that reminds me. Israel Independence Day is only a few months away. This year’s celebration falls on April 20th. To start the celebration early you can buy my book, ZVUVI’S ISRAEL and get a 10% discount when you shop at Kar-Ben’s online store. Use the special code TAMI when you check out. This offer is available until April 20, 2010.

Rega (that's Hebrew for wait a minute)...here's another idea. Would you like to meet me around the time of Israel Independence Day? You can if you book a virtual Q&A with the Author. Visit Tami's website and go to the top right-hand banner that says "NEW" to find out how to do this.
You book the visit and I'll be there.
Lehitraot…Zvuvi

I’m as Fit as a Fly

Shalom Yeladim:
Did you have your swine flu vaccination? I brought you a sign showing how kids in Israel are learning about the swine flu. We’re part of the worldwide effort to get vaccinated. In fact, I just had my Khisun – that’s vaccination in Hebrew, against Shapat Khazirim – which means swine flu. When my turn came I hardly felt it, and now I’m as fit as a fly. You know it’s a good thing they don’t call it the “fly flu”. That would be really confusing. Speaking of which, I flew by Israel’s Ministry of Health this week and I heard some interesting news. Listen to this: as of January 1st – which means just a few days ago, all newborn babies in Israel will have their hearing checked for free within 48 hours after being born. Isn’t that unbelievable? There’s a reason why the Israeli government has decided to pay for this check-up. Doctors in Israel have found that 3 out of every 1000 kids have hearing problems. They’re determined to find out who has hearing difficulties as soon as possible. It turns out that hearing is the most important way to get babies to react when they’re very little. It’s our hearing that helps us learn how to speak and develop our brain power. Now that all babies will be tested, babies with hearing problems will have a hearing aid attached to their ear from the time they are one month old so that they will be able to develop like all the other babies.
I understand that people in England say “Hear, Hear!” when they like something and that Americans say “Let’s hear it for…”. I like the idea of a baby hearing test, don’t you? Let’s all say “Hear, Hear!” “Let’s hear it for the hearing doctors in Israel!”
I could be really punny and say “Le’HearTraot.” But I don’t want you to groan, so I’ll just say: Le’Hitraot. See you in 2 weeks.
Zvuvi