By Miri
Being vegetarian or vegan
in your home country or your country of residence is usually not such
a big deal. It may take a little time, it may take a little practice,
but at some point, no matter what the local cuisine has to offer, you
will figure out and learn how to best accommodate it to your needs.
Being a travelling vegetarian or vegan is somewhat more difficult.
Most likely you won't be familiar with the dishes and/or all the
ingredients, and in many cases you will also not know the language
well enough in order to inquire about all of this. At the same time,
trying and tasting the local foods, for many, is an integral part of
travelling and learning about different cultures. For the same
purpose, the Vegan Society has issued a Vegan Passport, that you can
order from their page and that states in the languages of over 93% of
the world's population, what foods vegans can/cannot eat. In general,
the internet has become a great resource for vegetarians and vegans
alike, recipes are being shared, products are being evaluated and
also travel tips and recommendations can be found in numerous forums
and sites. Being a vegan myself and having lived and travelled in
Palestine and Israel for quite a few years now, I would like to add
my two cents to the discussion and hopefully help some vegetarian and
vegan travellers to the Holy Land.
Israel
vegetarian - tzimkhonit (female) & tzimkhoni(male)
vegan - tivonit (female) & tivoni (male)
"without
meat" - “bli basar”
Both
vegetarianism and veganism are pretty known concepts within Israeli
society and in most cases it will not take you too long to explain to
people what you eat and what you don't eat.
As
most of you know, the Jewish population of Israel is comprised of a
whole mix of ethnicities, ranging from Russian immigrants to Jews
originating from places like Yemen or Ethiopia, and although sharing
the same beliefs, their traditions, including their food cultures,
vary considerably.
Very helpful for vegetarians and vegans are the
Kashrut, the Jewish dietary rules. Although highly complex, this set
of rules rests upon a few basic principles, one of which is the
separation of meat and milk, which translates into the two not being
consumed, served, cooked or stored together.
 |
| On products, look for this or similar signs, reading "kosher, parve" |
Most of the milky foods
are therefore vegetarian, though some may contain fish. Foods that
neither contain meat nor milk are categorised as “parve” (meaning "neutral), and
although they may contain egg, a lot of them are actually vegan.
Many
restaurants, diners and snack bars in Israel are kosher, and a lot of
food products are manufactured according to the Kashrut, and thus
give very exact information about the ingredients and are often
vegetarian or vegan. In addition to that, you may find products that
are usually not suitable for vegans, such as ice cream, but in order
to please the religious communities (in the sense of increasing
sales) they are made parve, and hence vegan.
When it comes to Israeli
cuisine, as opposed to the foods that the different Jewish
communities brought along with them, we may as well switch to the
Palestine section, because, let's be honest, Israeli national dishes
are in their essence the same as Arab ones.
Bete'Avon!
Palestine
vegetarian
and vegan - nabatiyye (female) & nabati (male)
"without
meat" - “biddun lahme”
The
concepts of both vegetarianism and veganism are less common among
Palestinians and yet, according to my experience, people usually
understand right away what you mean.
While in many other countries
vegetarianism is a more known concept than veganism, in Arabic, the
term “nabati” is used to refer to both, but literally actually
means the latter, i.e. someone who eats only vegetables.
 |
| Falafel in Ramallah |
When it
comes to snacks and small dishes, Palestine (and Israel as well, for
that matter) is perfect for vegetarians and vegans alike. You don't
only find tasty and cheap vegan snacks, such as Falafel, Hummus and
Foul at every corner, those dishes, made mainly out of legumes, are
also very rich in proteins and therefore very healthy for people who
abstain from eating meat or animal products.
In the bigger towns and
cities, such as Ramallah and Bethlehem, it is by now also quite easy
to find restaurants that serve vegetarian and/or vegan dishes, (at Sangria's in Ramallah you can even order
vegan burgers!) and quite a few shops started selling vegan products,
such as soy milk and tofu.
In places that are less frequently visited
by foreigners, and especially at people's homes, you may encounter more
problems, as a lot of the dishes, especially when served to guests,
frequently include meat, especially chicken. Then it's time for you
to practice your Arabic and according to my experience, people usually understand. Very often,
the meat, and also the yogurt sauces that go with dishes such as
Maqluba (a very tasty and common rice dish with fried vegetables and
usually chicken), are served on the side, and a vegetarian or vegan
may still be able to have her/his share and taste those dishes.
Sahteen!
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