Contemporary Israeli and Palestinian Cook book writers, Chefs & Invited Speakers

Day 17:

Guest Speaker: Dr. Michal Nahman (University of Bristol, UK)

Speaker visit and cook along with Dr. Michal Naham (Meet in Kitchen X)

Salt Houses : chapters “Atef,” “Riham,” and “Alia.”

Reflection questions:

What is Atef's voice telling us about his post-traumatic recovery: his memory of Mustafa and his views on living in Amman, through the letters he's writing and his conversations with Alia?

Riham's nostalgic expressions, and the significance of home and body image to her. She's first generation: how does the notion of home and nostalgia inform her identity, compared to her parents, for instance?

How does the progression from silence to speech in Salt Houses positions memory as the ultimate weapon against historical erasure?

Day 18:

The Palestinian Perspective on Land, Dispossession, Re-appropriation, and Food as a Social Medium

Assigned reading: Reem Kassis's "Here's Why Palestinians Object to the term 'Israeli Food': It erases Us from History." The Washington Post.

(Research the dishes she mentions in the article);

Salt Houses (chapters “Souad,” “Riham,” and “Souad”).

Day 19:

Salt Houses

Assigned reading:

Salt Houses (chapters “Linah,” “Atef,” “Manar” and “Epilogue”)

Reflection questions:

What is the role of memory in the search for home and belonging? Does memory have other roles in those chapters? Find examples.

How is the story of Palestine told in the novel? What roles do memory and imagination play when telling this story? How is the Jewish subject portrayed in this story? What are your thoughts on the title?

Day 20:

Conflict Kitchen: Guest Speaker Professor Jon Rubin, Co-Founder and Director of Pittsburgh’s “Conflict Kitchen” and Professor of Art (CMU)

Assigned Reading:

Julie Hakim Azzam, “Pittsburgh’s ‘Conflict Kitchen’ is latest battleground over Palestine, free speech and criticism of Israel,” Nov. 11, 2014.

Day 21:

Israeli-American Chef and Restaurateur Michael Solomonov & Zahav (Philadelphia)

Assigned reading and viewing:

Watch:

Michael Solomonov's In Search of Israeli Cuisine (1 hr 38 minutes) (free on Amazon Prime Video); read Michael Solomonov's introduction to his cook book, Zahav.

Reading Prompt:

How is “Israeli Cuisine” defined according to the

documentary? What are the elements that make it Israeli, as opposed to Jewish cuisine? Are any groups represented to a greater or lesser degree in the film? Are any groups excluded? How does Salomonov’s family background influence his thinking about Israeli food?

Day 22:

Assigned Reading:

Reem Kassis, “They Ate at My Table, then Ignored My People,” The Atlantic. March 16, 2024.

Watch Episode 3 of Fadi Kattan’s Teta’s Kitchen: Musakhan in

Sebastia.

SALT HOUSES PAPER DUE MONDAY 11/28. SEE CANVAS FOR DETAILS.