Missiles above Tehran, Silence in Gaza, tension in Washington… and tomatoes in Tel Aviv. This June 18, while the headlines announce a possible American military intervention after the Israeli strikes on Iran, CNN publishes, Just below its “Breaking News” sectiona fresh, crunchy, well -seasoned article: “The 24 best salads in the world”.
And at the heart of the top 5 of this planetary record, between a Tuscan panzanella and a Thai salad: the famous “Israeli salad”. Or should we say … our Tunisian salad, simplified version, without tuna or egg.
A renamed salad, a confiscated memory
Tomatoes. Cucumbers. Parsley. Lemon juice. Olive oil. Salt. Nothing more, nothing less. An older recipe than borders, known by a thousand names throughout the Arab world – Salata Baladi in Egypt, Méchouia salad in Tunisia, Arab salad in Palestine. With us, we simply call it “Slata”.
But in the universe of CNN, this salad becomes “Israeli”. Still stronger: Michael Solomonov, Israeli-American chief cited in the article, recognizes without embarrassment his “Arab origins”. And yet, CNN classifies the salad under the blue and white banner. The admission is there. Rebranding, too.
Special mention to everyone … except for us
In this ranking, Lebanon is cited for its tabbouleh, Iran for its Shirazi salad. The latter is even compared to the Israeli salad – which amounts to saying that the original looks like its own copy. We are close to caricature.
But Tunisia shines by its absence, despite the richness of its salads: Méchouia, Houria, Slata Tounsia … Nothing, not even a footnote. We are however at the heart of this shared culinary tradition, where tomato and cucumber are eaten raw, cooked, crushed, smoked, marinated. But obviously, the taste of origins stops where the geography of power begins.
Soft Power on the plate: the cultural war continues
It is not a simple salad. It is a strategy. That of erasure, makeup, renown. Falafel, Houmous, Keffieh – All have become Israeli “export products” in the eyes of a certain Western storytelling.
And now the salad.
To publish this article at the very moment when Israel bombes Iran and the United States threatening to go to war is no coincidence. It is a form of strategic dissonance. While the bombs fall, the cucumbers tell another story. Softer. More digestible.
