Israel's pizza Knafeh triggers cultural appropriation debate

ALBAWABA - Israel's Pizza Hut is heaving rebuke after announcing a new pizza flavor: Pizza Knafeh, Haaretz daily reported.

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Pro-Palestinian activists slammed the Israeli move, calling it 'cultural appropriation', especially since Knafeh originated from Palestine and is traditionally a Palestinian desert, before becoming a popular Middle Eastern sweet.

Across much of the Arab world, the dish is called Knafeh Nabulsiyeh, pointing to its origin from the West Bank city of Nablus, and known to be the most representative Palestinian dessert.

A social media user cynically wrote: "First it was chocolate hummus, now it is pizza knafeh. What’s next? Hummus-Knefeh?"

An Italian-Palestinian professor at the University of Sussex Business School also commented on Israel's pizza Knafeh, saying it "is an insult to the Arabic pastry."

Palestinian feminist Marwa Fatafta also decried the newly launched Pizza Knafeh by Israel's Pizza Hut, saying: "Knafeh has been abused in every way imaginable. Pizza Hut Israel found a new one."

In fact, this is not the first time Israel destroys, or claims possession of a Middle Eastern dish. Earlier, Israel claimed that Hummus is Israeli and launched a chocolate Hummus, triggering a wave of wrath across the Arab world.