Israeli Cuisine & the Curious Case of Yemenite Falafel

The CSULB Jewish Studies Program is delighted to host a talk by Dr. Ari Ariel on “Israeli Cuisine & the Curious Case of Yemenite Falafel.” The talk will take place at 7 pm at the Alpert JCC (3801 E. Willow St.).

Dr. Ariel’s talk will trace the development of Israeli food from the early period of Zionist migration to Palestine to the present. Emphasizing the ways that food cultures change, he will discuss how falafel, a non-Yemeni dish, came to be associated with Yemenite Jews in Israel. More broadly, he asks how the foods of various Jewish immigrant groups and Palestinian Arabs merged into a single national cuisine, consider the role of Jewish-ness and Arab-Israeli relations in Israeli foodways, and the popularity of “New Israeli Cuisine” internationally.

Dr. Ariel is an Associate Professor of Instruction in History and International Studies and the Director of International Studies at University of Iowa.  He focuses on Jewish communities in the Arab world and Mizrahi communities in Israel and his interests include ethnic, national, and religious identities, migration, and foodways. His first book, ​Jewish-Muslims Relations and Migration from Yemen to Palestine in the Late Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Brill, 2014), analyzes the impact of local, regional and international events on ethnic relations in Yemen and on Yemeni Jewish migration patterns.

The Alpert JCC has graciously decided to provide falafel, pita, and dips for Dr. Ariel’s talk.

Like all Jewish Studies talks, this is free and open to the public. There is no need to rsvp.