This Jewish-Arab Israeli duo owns Berlin’s hippest hummus joint
Source: Times of Israel
While employing refugees, the unlikely interfaith partners implement their vision: to bring the food of their forefathers to German tables
BERLIN (JTA) – In a corner of former East Berlin, where shabby, red brick buildings meet cobblestone streets, lies a new Promised Land.
Kanaan, a casual, vegetarian Middle Eastern restaurant named for the biblical lands before they were conquered by the Israelites, is something of a dream come true. And that’s not just because its hummus is “oh yes,” as one German blogger recently described it.
Rather it’s the result of a unique partnership between its 30-something owners, Oz Ben David, who grew up Jewish in Beersheba, and Jalil Dabit, an Arab Christian from Ramle.
The duo met in the German capital, where they are trying to turn a culinary dream into reality. Before the men ever met, they had separately nursed the same idea: to draw upon their heritage to create a delicious, modern cuisine. And, of course, to earn their living by it.
Kanaan, which opened a year ago, is a unique hybrid, where the Arab cuisine of Dabit’s grandfather meets the recipes of Ben David’s Moroccan and Romanian grandmothers. In some ways it’s an “only in Berlin” phenomenon, thanks in part to the city’s relatively open attitude toward foreigners. Berlin boasts a small but lively Israeli population (estimated at some 10,000) and a significant number of Arabs of Palestinian origin, which some estimate at about 35,000.
Read more: http://www.timesofisrael.com/this-jewish-arab-israeli-duo-owns-berlins-hippest-hummus-joint/
Note: Extra paragraph added.