Israeli Cafe Gives 50% Off Hummus for Jews, Arabs Who Co-Dine

Israeli eatery hopes common bond of chickpeas will ease ongoing tensions
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 20, 2015 1:24 PM CDT
Israeli Cafe Gives 50% Off Hummus for Jews, Arabs Who Co-Dine
All we are saying is give chickpeas a chance.   (Shutterstock)

In a month marred by violence between Israelis and Palestinians, one little Israeli café is trying to give chickpeas a chance. The Hummus Bar in Kfar Vitkin is offering half-off hummus to tables of Jews and Arabs dining together, the Times of Israel reports. "With us we don't have Arabs! But we also don't have Jews … With us we've got human beings! Real excellent Arab hummus! Excellent Jewish falafel!" reads the eatery's Hebrew-language Facebook post from Oct.13, per Al Jazeera. Owner Kobi Tzafrir explains to the network that "we want to show that we're all human beings, just like each other, not so different." The Times notes the kitchen is both kosher and halal, so there's no reason that Israelis and Palestinians can't break pita together.

Quartz notes it's not the first time hummus has been offered in lieu of an olive branch between the Israelis and Palestinians: There's also been a selfies-with-hummus campaign and even a 2013 documentary called Make Hummus, Not War. Tzafrir says his offer has received a mostly positive response: He tells Al Jazeera that some Jew-Arab tables insist on paying full price to support his initiative, though there are the usual critics and wise guys in the Facebook comments section. "You've totally lost your minds, we're not going to have peace with them for another million years," one writes, per Quartz, while another adds, "If I'm yemenite [i.e. arab jew] do i get 50% off for eating with myself?" Still, Tzafrir is considering extending the promotion "maybe forever," per Al Jazeera. "If there's anything that can bring together these peoples, it's hummus," he tells the Times. (Maybe even hummus-loving Hillary Clinton will show up.)

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