Israeli food, Sephardi

Was Shawarma Just Culturally Appropriated by Israel?

Screenshot of Shawarma tweet by @TheMossadIL

The British Independent has an article accusing Israel of the cultural appropriation of Shawarma, using an article in the far-left Israeli newspaper Haaretz as proof. Haaretz called the rotisserie meat sandwich in a pita, “an iconic Israeli street food.”

Popular Twitter account @TheMossadIL, on the other hand, points out that fully half of Israel’s population was expelled from Middle Eastern countries.


I’d add that Israel is actually located in the Middle East, so how is that appropriation? Shawarma is regional food. Israel is in that region.