The hummus war is escalating. In October, 2009, Lebanon set a Guinness World Record for the most hummus bi tahini compiled in one place, amassing more than two tons in an extravagant ceremony that drew international media coverage and beat the previous record held by Israel. Lebanon has been fighting for years to confirm that hummus is of Lebanese origin, and its organizers hailed the move as a bold offensive in the battle to repatriate the dish.
It took Israel less than three months to wrench that record back.
On January 8, Arab-Israeli restaurant owner and multi-millionaire Jawdat Ibrahim doubled Lebanon’s figure, borrowing a satellite dish from a local broadcasting station and filling it with more than four tons of hummus. Ibrahim told reporters his actions were not hostile.
“Competition is a healthy thing,” he said at the time. “Today we have hummus. Hopefully, soon we will have talks for peace in our region.”
How escalating an already bitter conflict might promote peace is a subject upon which Ibrahim failed to explain. He’ll get his competition though — Lebanese Minister of Tourism Fadi Abboud was quick to respond to the news of the Israeli record by saying that Lebanon plans to up the ante this spring, and will top Ibrahim’s record by another two tons.
The economic collapse of the Soviet Union ended the escalation of nuclear weapons stockpiling during the Cold War. Hummus — far cheaper than nuclear armaments — probably won’t undercut the economies of either Israel or Lebanon. However, it is no less appropriate, now as then, to pose the question: at what point does escalation leave rationality behind?
