What I love most about Anthony Bourdain's segment in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza is how he concentrates on the rich history, food and culture of this region - rather than focusing on the differences between the Jews, Muslims and Christians and the Israelis and Arabs. He spends much of his time appreciating the local foods of the region and highlighting the similarities and commonalities of traditional recipes of Israelis and Palestinians. He does this within th backdrop of the ongoing conflict and war in the region. He uses food as a mechanism and way for Israelis and Palestinians to vocalize and contrast their different narratives, history, experiences and cultures.
He pre-empted the criticism he would get for his show. Anthony Bourdain began this edition of Parts Unknown by saying, “By the end of this hour, I’ll be seen by many as a terrorist sympathizer, a Zionist tool, a self-hating Jew, an apologist for American imperialism, an Orientalist, socialist, a fascist, CIA agent, and worse.”
He was correct - the backlash from this episode was heard all across the globe and the internet. IN fact his episode was delayed due to the controversy surrounding this episode. He was criticised for just about everything: many questioned his political leaning - some going as far as calling him a disappointing Jew, a supporter of Hammas and a Palestinian sympathizer. Others criticized him for falling flat and failing to address the significant political and economic issues and inequalities of the region in a meaningful way. Many have said that he portrayed a romanticised vision of what he perceives as the ongoing conflict between the Jews, Christians and Muslims and the Palestinians and Israelis. While others, have said there was not enough discussion on food as a whole.
It’s true, he
did fall short of what was expected from him - at least as far as my
expectations go. For whatever reason (and we can think of many I am sure), he
did not take as many risks, voice his mind, “not give a f***”,volunteer this
opinion and commentary or question his surrounds as he usually does and is famously
known to do. His snaky and opinionated attitude
has turned off many over the years. Yet, in this episode he was tame, apolitical,
unlike his regular snotty self and way too politically correct - barf.
Whatever the
criticism - he is given props for trying to steer a very politically charged
discussion away from the traditional us vs. them, Muslims vs. Arabs, Zionism
vs. Occupation reports that we read about on a daily basis - to something
meaningful that we can digest and relate to - FOOD! Yes people it is that simple
and Bourdain took it there. I like the fact that he simplified the multilayer discourse
of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and rebranded and packaged it in a way that
consumers such as myself can appreciate, absorb and take a new found interest in
the discussion. He even provides his viewers with a take home massage (which I agree is a bit wet) that left me feeling all fuzzy and warm inside! Bourdain closes the segment by highlighting the following:
“when you see how similar they are, the two people, both of whom cook with pride, eat with passion, love their kids, love the land in which they live or the land they dream of returning to … that they might someday, somehow figure out how to live with each other. But that would be very mushy thinking indeed. Those things in the end probably don’t count for much at all.”
If you have not seen the episode – take an
hour and watch it. I am confident you too will have something to say.
