Arabs Like Matzo, Too
By Daniel Treiman
Lisa Goldman, the writer of what may be Israel’s best irregularly updated English-language blog, has a new post up that shines some light on a little-known gustatory fact: Arabs love matzo!
She directs readers to a Ha’aretz article on this topic from last Passover:
A journalist associated with the Islamic Movement in Israel told Haaretz that he also bought Matza. “The kids can’t get enough of it,” he gleefully reported. “They eat it like crackers. But it also represents a sense of folklore for us. Maybe we like it more than Jews do because no one’s forcing us to eat nothing but Matza all day long,” he said in explanation.
But, she learned recently, this may be more than just an Israeli thing. A contact in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, recently sent her a photo of a tray engraved with Hebrew script for the word “matzo” that was for sale in a local store. The correspondent also informed her that local supermarkets sell kosher matzos, certified by a London rabbinic court.
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