Posted February 14 2008 by Ezra Butler
About the Impending Israeli Sushi Strike and the Implications and Ramifications upon the Future of the Israeli Society
Strikes are inevitable. Certain things can be done without. (I am not, God forbid, referring to House, Scrubs, Desperate Housewives, Prison Break, Heroes, 30 Rock, or any other TV shows affected by the recently-ended WGA Writer’s Strike in the US. That was hell, and should not be experienced by anyone.)
In the long time that I have been living in Israel, I have weathered many strikes.
Education, garbage disposal, government workers, and public transportation. These are all expendable. Yeah, they hit close to home, but you learn to live without. To use a biological term, you evolve.
But to live without sushi? What sort of sick joke is that?
I fully sympathize with the plight of the Israeli government and the desire to lessen the reliance on foreign workers. With unemployment at the current levels, I can understand the want not to simply be importing labor from abroad.
Israel is truly an international country. Israel is the mosaic that America just thinks it is. One of my favorite restaurants near my office is a hummusia (a hummus restaurant) that is designed in a Euro-Asian décor. We take the foods from all the countries that we come from, and bring them together on one street. The Modern Israeli Kitchen is completely a fusion kitchen combining aspects of tastes and flavors from all over the world.
As Israelis travel to both the East and West, they discover new tastes and bring them back home.
As the Reuters article states, there is not a large immigration from Asia, mainly, because there are not many Asian Jews. Yet there is a large migration from Asia. Israel is dependent on many of these migrant workers, who are trying to support their families back home on the meager salary they may accrue here. Without the Filipino workers, for instance, Israelis would not be able to take care of their elderly with the dignity that they deserve.
We want to only pay Israeli Arabs dirt poor wages, and not spread the wealth to workers from random Asian countries, but it is downright offensive to read statements such as “[e]veryone can make Chinese food; it’s not impossible to learn.”
The first odious aspect of that statement is that Asia is a large continent with a fantastic heritage of cooking, and that vast continent is broken down into various countries, one being China and another (of many) being Japan. Sushi, for instance, is NOT Chinese, it is Japanese. Yes, both countries consume rice. That is where the similarity ends. In Japanese, it is called “shi”, and in Chinese, it is called “fan”. They don’t even sound the same.
Anyone who has ever eaten at a sushi bar knows that the presentation is part of the experience. It is a veritable art. One that is not inherent in the Israeli genome. We are good at many things, but taking the extra 7 seconds to arrange artfully a platter of sushi is not in the minimum wage Israeli (Jew or Arab)’s skill set.
A recent article states that Tel Aviv eats more sushi per capita than Paris or London.
There are issues about fish and rice quality that are scary if not done correctly. Simply put, Israelis, while eating much sushi, are not raised in a sushi-making culture.
Sushi costs more than any other food here, and the consumer understands that he is getting a high quality product. I shudder when I try to think what can happen to Tel Aviv’s 100+ sushi eateries, in addition to those of Jerusalem, and all the other cities. Indeed, what will happen to the entire economy if fewer work visas are issued to Asian chefs? Will young children grow up without knowing the difference between Maki and Nigiri? Or the difference between Tamago and Masago? Or even, simply between Photomaki and Uramaki! In a word - we will be barbarians.
This awesome decision must not lay on the shoulders of some bureaucrat sitting in a generic government office. This affects real people. This affects me personally.
As there are so many religions here in Israel, the government should realize that many things are sacred. Sushi is one of those things.
Full Disclosure: I do not eat gluten. I cannot follow Marie Antoinette’s advice of “eating cake”. I just had an amazing sushi dinner two nights ago at a great place on Azza Street in Jerusalem.
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About the Impending Israeli Sushi Strike and the Implications and Ramifications upon the Future of the Israeli Society says:
Jewneric » Japan and Israel, Strikingly Logical Bedfellows. says:
[...] Spielberg’s snubbing of China on humanitarian grounds, and the Israeli Knesset’s recent decision regarding Asian Chefs in Ethnic establishments, we bear witness to an historic meeting of two [...]
[...] Drug Watcher wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAbout the Impending Israeli Sushi Strike and the Implications and Ramifications upon the Future of the Israeli Society Posted by Ezra Butler | Filed under Cooking, Restaurants, Israel, Food Strikes are inevitable. Certain things can be done without. (I am not, God forbid, referring to House, Scrubs, Desperate Housewives, Prison Break, Heroes, 30 Rock, or any other TV shows affected by the recently-ended WGA Writer’s Strike in the US. That was hell, and should not be experienced by anyone.) I [...]