Push might come to shove, but Israeli food in the United States marks what scholar of Mishnah and American Judaism Jacob Neusner once made fun of, namely “vicarious Judaism.” Except that today, the border between these two distinct places, Israel and Diaspora, is not a fixed identity and object. Just as impossible to separate is the volatile border between Israel and Palestine. The dynamic relates to history, geography, demography, ideology, and taste. Israeli food today is Jewish food is Arab food.

[photos taken from Solomonov and Cook, Zahav Home: Cooling for Friends & Family]