Israel Matzav

It starts: Harvard all over itself apologizing over Israeli food controversy

At Harvard University, they're falling all over themselves to apologize to offended Muslims.

Harvard Business School is “deeply troubled” for having offended Arab sensibilities due to the mischaracterization of various foods appearing on the menu of the dining room’s Israeli Mezze Station, Brian Kenny, chief marketing and communications officer of the school, was quoted by Al-Arabiya as saying Friday.

The controversy over the Israeli food station arose after Lebanese Harvard graduate Sara el-Yafi on October 28 posted to her Facebook page a letter of protest to the university describing the Israeli buffet’s menu as an affront to Arabs, as such foods as humous and couscous are not of Israeli origin.

“That ‘Israeli Mezze Station” is the ultimate multicultural, multireligious ‘f*** you’ in the face of ALL Arabs at once from North Africa to the Levant,” el- Yafi wrote.

“Israel already has a hard time keeping face in the Arab world for the way it has ‘appropriated’ its lands since 1948, don’t make it worse for them by having them appropriate other peoples’ foods as well,” she added.

El-Yafi also pointed out that haloumi cheese is in fact “Cypriot,” and therefore “until Cyprus becomes another conquered Israeli territory, haloumi is considered NOT Israeli.”

She concluded that at the very least the buffet should be renamed “Mediterranean Mezze Station.”

In response to el-Yafi’s Facebook protest, which as of Friday had garnered more than 4,500 “likes,” Kenny reportedly said that “we are deeply troubled that we offended anybody by doing this buffet item, particularly considering that our reason for doing the international buffet each day is to celebrate cultural diversity.”

 Good grief.... Forget for a minute that yes, many foods enjoyed in Israel came from Israeli Jews whose grandparents immigrated here 60 years ago from the Arab countries that expelled them (I know, that can't be admitted because then the holy Arab Muslims would have to admit that they brought about Jewish refugees). But would anybody take offense if an American mezze station included pizza, spaghetti or French Freedom fries?

When are university administrators going to stop kowtowing to these spoiled brats? (And yes, I know, she's alumna - how much money has she donated since graduation? And does that give her a right to tell them how to run the university?).

Labels: dhimmi, Harvard University

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:07 PM