Source Note #26: Israelis Love Falafel
Israelis Love Falafel (YouTube, March 2009)
Vlogger Nic visits Jerusalem, Israel and shows an Israeli falafel stand that he frequents.
Topic: Should the Obama administration continue to support Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
Category: Citizen: Witness
What is it? A video blog post from YouTube
Publication Information: YouTube; March 7, 2009
Author: Blogger handle “verynico”
Location: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88MoCCmGB3I
Accessed: March 12, 2009
Support:
verynico
Falafel shop owner
Audience and Agenda:
YouTube user verynico currently lives in Jerusalem, Israel. With his video blog, he hopes to document a side of everyday live in the area that is not shown by the mainstream media. He attempts to “tell it like it is, or at least how it appears to [him.]” Some of his videos have several hundred hits. YouTube itself has at least 80.6 million US visitors per month.
Usefulness:
Falafel is the cause of a cultural riff between Israel and Palestine. Both claim the sandwich as its national dish, despite its probable Egyptian origins. Falafel is traditionally an Arab food, but the rapid rise of the Zionist movement caused the need for an Israeli national identity, beginning with the food of a new geographic area. Israel has claimed falafel as its “national snack” since the 1950s, but calls for peace between Palestine and Israel has led to the view of falafel changing from cultural to regional. In this video, Nic, a vlogger living in Jerusalem, visits a famous Israeli falafel stand.
Works cited:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88MoCCmGB3I
http://www.youtube.com/user/verynico
A History of the Mideast in a Humble Chickpea
Falafel Fact Sheet
Falafel: A National Icon
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