Conspiracy theory

Last time I felt like having tabbouleh, French fries, hummus and eggs (beyd 3a banadoura) - a basic and easy Lebanese lunch.

I went out to buy the hummus because it was the only thing I couldn't be bothered doing myself. After getting the overpriced parsley in the vegetable section, I moved to the "exotic" aisle of the supermarket. I grabbed the French-made Lebanese bread - it's decent - a can of Al Wadi Al Akhdar hummus and headed to the check-out counter.

On my way out, I passed in front the meat and dairy fridges and notice something new - they have a special fridge displaying a wide selection of fresh Lebanese tapas: Hummus and Baba Ghanouj / Moutabal. I thought it would be a good idea to try this fresh hummus and see how it tasted because I know I'm not a huge fan of Al Wadi Al Akhdar canned foods.

I took this new fresh hip and cool hummus in my hand and started reading about its origins. At first I thought it came from Lebanon, or that some Lebanese guy here in the region was making it and selling it to the supermarkets.

But as I took a closer look, here is what I find:

It was all written in Hebrew! It was made in Israel!

I was shocked that an Israeli company would produce "Lebanese Style" Hummus. I mean, I was glad to see that after making this record breaking pot of hummus in Beirut, the Israelis finally acknowledge that this particular dish is ours and not theirs, but still...to put "Lebanese Style" on it was pretty surprising.

I know that this isn't the hummus they sell in the supermarkets of Tel Aviv, it's just an export product because they know that the Lebanese food sells well. It's like when I walk in some "Lebanese Shawarma" place in the dodgy streets of Geneva and see that it's owned by a couple of Egyptians who display their pyramids on the counter of the restaurant.

Like "Swiss Made" is the label used to sell good quality products, "Lebanese" helps sell any oriental food, because no one would want to eat Egyptian, Jordanian or Syrian food - even though it's pretty much the same.

Israelis noticed that and despite the current state of war between the two countries, well, business is business. Something that would NEVER happen in Lebanon.

Though this hummus was DISGUSTING! It tastes SHIT!

So I'm going to go back to the supermarket to take a closer look in this hummus fridge, because I'm sure I'll find they're selling the delicious "Israeli hummus" right next to it. This way, people will think that Lebanese hummus sucks and that the Israeli one is great. This is all a conspiracy by the Zionists to promote their own hummus!

Bastards.