WEBVTT - Food Erasure and Preserving Culture 0:00:01.680 --> 0:00:04.960 Alzoon Media. 0:00:06.600 --> 0:00:09.080 Hello everybody, This is Sharen. Welcome to it could happen 0:00:09.160 --> 0:00:13.640 here today. We're talking to two people I love and 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:16.680 respect very much about a topic that I think is 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:20.440 really underreported on, and that's food erasure and how it's 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:22.920 part of ethic cleansing. And I think it's a really 0:00:22.920 --> 0:00:25.279 important topic to talk about right now, especially with the 0:00:25.400 --> 0:00:29.040 genocide happening in Palestine. So let's just jump right in 0:00:29.120 --> 0:00:33.320 without further ado. Welcome my guests, Reeve and Jabidil. 0:00:32.920 --> 0:00:36.760 Hello, Hello, Hello, Hey. 0:00:37.560 --> 0:00:38.840 Just so our audience can get to know you guys 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:41.280 a little bit better, how about y'all introduce yourselves and 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:45.279 like what you do and yeah, yeah, Ream you want 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:45.720 to go first? 0:00:46.640 --> 0:00:47.080 Sure. 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:48.960 My name is Reem. 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:54.560 I am a Bay Area based Palestinian Syria and chef. 0:00:55.760 --> 0:00:59.240 I own a restaurant called Reems, California. And our mission 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:04.000 really is too who built community across cultures and experiences 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:06.280 through the warmth of Arab bread and hospitality. 0:01:07.400 --> 0:01:11.679 Beautiful. Wow, that was so succinct. My name is thank 0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:13.039 you for a Saesday, So. 0:01:14.600 --> 0:01:15.880 I've done it a few times, you know. 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:19.399 Yeah. My name is Jabrell Unis. I'm a filmmaker based 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:25.200 in Pasadena, and I am also a Palestinian artist in general. 0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:29.040 Yeah, no relation. Both of our last names are Unis, 0:01:29.040 --> 0:01:31.600 but that is how we met. A white person said, 0:01:31.680 --> 0:01:33.440 you guys have the same last name, you should meet, 0:01:33.680 --> 0:01:37.600 and we met. No, we're friends, But I really like 0:01:37.840 --> 0:01:40.520 the partnership that you guys have in the collaboration that 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:43.520 you guys, from my perspective, have established. Can you guys 0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:46.080 talk about what you've been working on recently together? 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:50.080 Yeah? Yeah, So we've been working on for the past 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:55.920 since like twenty twenty one or late twenty twenty. We've 0:01:55.920 --> 0:01:59.320 been working on a documentary series that is named after 0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:03.040 reim cookbook, which is you should pick it up. It's 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:05.400 one of my favorite cookbooks that I own. It's called 0:02:05.440 --> 0:02:10.560 Arabia and it is a documenting series exploring the food 0:02:10.600 --> 0:02:14.640 ways and diaspora of Arab people across South past Asia, 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:17.760 North Africa. And I think the general log line and 0:02:17.880 --> 0:02:20.080 dream can dive into a bit more of the general 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:22.520 log line is you can tell this like through telling 0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:24.280 the story of the food, you can tell the story 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:28.440 of our people in diaspora. And it underscores a lot 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:31.560 of I think we'll talk about today, which is sort 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:37.880 of food, identity, identity through food and resilience and through food. 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:40.600 But also I think one thing that's always been really 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:43.880 important to both of us is how much we see 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:46.000 the show as like a celebration of our culture. I 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:50.400 feel like there are so many trauma stories from not 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:53.600 only Palestinians but Arabs in general, and I think something 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:55.440 that was really important to us is like, guess, let's 0:02:55.520 --> 0:02:58.600 talk about all of it. We're an extremely I think 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:01.280 you know, we're extremely politicize as a people, but also 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:05.320 very passionate, but also let's celebrate all the things we 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:08.600 love about ourselves and love about our culture and the 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:11.919 tastes and smells and sounds and sights. So how would 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:14.160 you I feel like that's sort of the setup, but 0:03:14.560 --> 0:03:15.600 how would you describe it? 0:03:17.480 --> 0:03:22.840 Yeah, I think that's exactly it. And our hope is 0:03:22.880 --> 0:03:27.240 that the being able to break down the barriers or 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:32.280 have a lens into our world for the public is 0:03:32.720 --> 0:03:37.440 kind of a gateway to understand the context and the 0:03:37.480 --> 0:03:41.320 politics behind why things are the way they are and 0:03:41.400 --> 0:03:47.520 to really fight the dehumanization that Arabs have experienced, particularly. 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:47.560 In the West. 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:51.200 And so, you know, while this is a show about food, 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:56.640 it's also it's very much a show about people and 0:03:56.720 --> 0:04:01.120 how interconnected we are. So yeah, we're really excited to 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:04.120 be able to break down some of those barriers of 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:07.960 understanding in a way that could actually lead to people, 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:13.080 you know, fighting anti Arab sentiment in this country, fighting Islamophobia, 0:04:13.200 --> 0:04:15.960 all of these things when they have that kind of 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:18.520 lens or that view into our world. 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:22.880 Yeah, and I mean it's been pretty interesting. Can I 0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:25.760 keep vamping a little bit? It's been pretty interesting. I 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:29.480 mean I think the sort of like thought that started 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:33.000 the show really was why it's so easy? And I 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:35.800 think we'll talk about this later too in depth, but like, 0:04:35.880 --> 0:04:39.200 why is it so easy to find so many different 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:43.120 cultures food? You know, like you have I'm going to 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:45.320 use Asian food as an example because I live in 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:47.320 the San Gabriel Valley, so it's like all around me. 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:51.159 But you have Korean food and Japanese food, and so 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:54.440 many different types of Chinese food that are all specifically 0:04:54.480 --> 0:04:57.520 called what they are and where they're from, right, They're 0:04:57.560 --> 0:05:02.200 all like identified correctly. That can extend to the Latin 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:06.920 X world and their food. It can extend to European food. 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:10.080 It's all very you know, like people call it what 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:13.800 it is, and then you sort of get to you 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:16.839 get to you know, Southwest Asia and North Africa, and 0:05:17.000 --> 0:05:21.600 suddenly the food stops being called you know, what it is, 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:26.000 and starts being called Mediterranean or starts being called Middle Eastern. 0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:31.640 And I think that the idea was, like I had 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:34.400 gone to Anaheim, where there's a neighborhood called Little Arabia here, 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:37.159 and there was a Palestinian restaurant. I was like so 0:05:37.320 --> 0:05:40.160 excited about it. It's called the Olive Tree. It's closed now, 0:05:40.560 --> 0:05:43.520 but I was like so so excited, and I got 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:46.640 I always get so so excited when I find a 0:05:46.680 --> 0:05:51.680 Palestinian restaurant or a yeah, any restaurant, and you know, 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:55.479 I mean many of them. But I think the reason 0:05:55.480 --> 0:05:57.320 I get so excited is because it's so hard to 0:05:57.360 --> 0:06:01.760 find those places, and I think there's a reason why. 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:04.520 And so, you know, three and a half years later, 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:07.599 the show has sort of grown from that initial thought 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:12.440 and interest and become very very different, and it's effort 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:16.360 to humanize Arabs, which is something I think is you know, 0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:18.039 it's unfortunate that we still have to do that, but 0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:20.640 I think we kind of do, especially right now. But yeah, 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:23.440 we've been pitching for like, you know, we worked on 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:25.680 it together for a while and then of been pitching 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:29.200 and going through pitches and talking at different companies and 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:31.400 getting a lot of great feedback and getting some really 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:34.279 weird feedback for the past like few years. And we 0:06:34.279 --> 0:06:35.000 can talk about that. 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:38.680 More if you want, But well, oh, I'd like to 0:06:38.720 --> 0:06:41.559 talk about some of the more interesting feedback, I guess, 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:45.400 but I would also want to ask you ream how 0:06:45.520 --> 0:06:47.720 how did you get involved in food? Like where did 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:48.599 that passion start? 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:52.120 Yeah, I've I. 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:56.000 Would say food has always been in the backdrop for 0:06:56.120 --> 0:07:00.719 better or for worse of my life experiences, particularly when 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:07.719 everything falls apart from me. I grew up kind of 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:10.960 as a whatever. The term I've heard is like the 0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:16.640 third culture kid, right where the Arab identity was really 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:19.320 strong in our household and that was particularly through food, 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:23.040 but then also and a stranger in a strange land 0:07:24.120 --> 0:07:29.440 outside of the home where it was predominantly your typical 0:07:29.560 --> 0:07:34.400 Americana suburban culture. And so I was kind of like, 0:07:36.040 --> 0:07:41.080 even though food was there, the intertwining with identity made 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:42.880 me like run away from it a lot because it 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:48.360 reminds you of your otherness and also just the nuances 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:52.040 of seeing my mom being a working mom and struggling 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:54.720 in the kitchen. So I was like, I'm never gonna 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:56.840 I'm going to be a feminist and I'm never. 0:07:56.680 --> 0:07:58.720 Gonna touch her. That was like. 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:03.040 Every time, like you know, and then I did like 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:07.440 what the immigrant child does, like overachiever, like go to college, 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:10.160 try to be the president, and then realize us of 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:12.320 what I want to do. When I spent many years 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:15.840 in the nonprofit world, I was doing organizing work, and 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:18.840 while that work was really rewarding to some extent, it 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:23.280 was really draining and not fulfilling in a deeper spiritual level. 0:08:24.000 --> 0:08:26.679 And so every time I would burn out, the food, 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:29.080 and particularly the food of my culture would come back 0:08:29.120 --> 0:08:32.280 in some shape or form. So I just had this 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:34.560 kind of moment in twenty ten where I was in 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:39.200 another bout of burnout and depression and really questioning everything. 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:41.320 And it was a trip that I took to the 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:45.600 Arab world with my father and seeing particularly bred in 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:51.800 these straight corner bakeries be the anchor for this community 0:08:51.800 --> 0:08:55.440 that I had, you know, as a kid of diaspora, 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:58.440 like really longing to feel connected to and it was 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:01.040 through the food that I like felt connected once again, 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:05.520 So my mom did something right, look of her the 0:09:05.559 --> 0:09:08.199 credit for that, But I was like, I need to 0:09:08.240 --> 0:09:10.280 explore this more. I need to understand what is this? 0:09:10.400 --> 0:09:13.000 And so then food became a source of healing for 0:09:13.040 --> 0:09:16.640 me to come back to my identity and come back 0:09:16.679 --> 0:09:19.840 to my culture. But then also just the power of 0:09:19.880 --> 0:09:23.520 food as a community builder that like transcends all cultures, 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:26.720 Like I really loved that as a community organizer who 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:30.440 had been working with other communities who struggled just like 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:33.560 my own, right, So that's kind of how I got 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:36.720 into food by way of my love for wanting to 0:09:36.800 --> 0:09:40.600 belong and my love for connection of community, and then 0:09:41.360 --> 0:09:45.000 slowly became obsessed with food itself. 0:09:45.040 --> 0:09:46.320 I mean, who doesn't love food? 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:50.880 But it is a place of both trauma and healing 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:53.160 for me, So it became kind of a way to 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:53.920 transcend that. 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:56.160 No, I think it's a great thing to bring up 0:09:56.200 --> 0:10:01.640 how it's a trauma and very healing as well. I 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:04.040 to kind of talk about like the feedback. I know 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:06.000 you've had a restaurant in the Bay Area for a while. 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:09.319 Was it similar when you tried to make the show 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:12.960 come together? Like did you have similar barriers and feedback? 0:10:12.960 --> 0:10:14.400 Like were you like familiar with some of the things 0:10:14.440 --> 0:10:17.280 that people were saying, or was it completely like a 0:10:17.320 --> 0:10:17.800 new game. 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:19.440 Yeah. 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:23.640 So the context that I started my restaurant, and I 0:10:23.679 --> 0:10:26.319 want to say it was probably much different than even 0:10:26.400 --> 0:10:29.559 what it is now today, although certainly there is backlash. 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:31.560 But I would say I was one of the first 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:34.720 few chefs who were saying, nope, I want my food 0:10:34.760 --> 0:10:40.360 to be called Arab, and I really wanted to counter 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:44.000 these kind of watered down labels of Middle Eastern or 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:47.520 Mediterranean or you know, levantine. To me, those were all 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:50.440 colonial terms and it was like a bad word to 0:10:50.480 --> 0:10:53.320 say Arab, and I wanted to reclaim that identity. I 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:54.719 was like, if I'm going to come out, I want 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:57.920 to come out as my whole self and not this person, 0:10:58.280 --> 0:11:00.880 this scared person that was stifled all my life. And 0:11:00.920 --> 0:11:04.160 I understand why the immigrants before me came, you know, 0:11:04.240 --> 0:11:06.680 did it that way because they needed to make a living, 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:09.800 and you know, there was a lot of anti Arab sentiment, 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:12.960 especially in the wake of nine to eleven, that that 0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:17.440 kind of climate here, and so I had this like 0:11:17.679 --> 0:11:20.360 lovely idea that I'm like this generation where I can 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:22.520 like break it down and make it cool. I'm like, 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:26.199 I'm going to mainstream it, you know, And I got 0:11:26.240 --> 0:11:29.840 pushback actually from my own family because they had those fears. 0:11:29.880 --> 0:11:32.680 They were like, just you know, start like, don't even 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:35.319 start with like a Zacta event with shit, nobody's gonna 0:11:35.920 --> 0:11:37.440 now it's like the hot thing. 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:39.400 But so that was a context in which I was 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:39.959 opening my. 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:44.800 Business and nobody had done it really before, so I 0:11:44.800 --> 0:11:46.840 could kind of create my own rules and people. 0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:47.319 Are like, what is this? 0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:50.080 And I still got like a lot of like, oh 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:56.400 is this you know Mediterranean? You know people, it took 0:11:56.440 --> 0:12:00.480 a while to train people to say Arab and then 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:03.640 put the layer of Palestinian identity, you know, my Palestinian 0:12:03.679 --> 0:12:06.000 identity at the time that I was opening my restaurant 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:08.800 was really important. It was you know, I had started 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:12.679 my pop ups on the in the wake of Israel's 0:12:13.200 --> 0:12:16.360 second to worst. Now we're seeing the worst of it 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:20.800 incursion on RaSE in twenty fourteen, in which they killed 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:26.679 you know, over three thousand Palestinians in one winter, and 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:30.720 we were devastated by that. We were devastated about the 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:33.960 state of organizing with Palestinians, and I really wanted to 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:37.040 as I opened my restaurant not be scared to talk 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:41.440 about my whole self, and so I, uh so everything 0:12:41.480 --> 0:12:44.720 about Reims, even though we're not like pushing our politics 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:47.800 in your face. The very act of being Palestinian was 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:51.240 seen as political, just existing. And we had a mural 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:54.440 of a Palestinian activist who was based in Chicago named 0:12:54.559 --> 0:12:59.800 Esmueroda who was deported by the government as a made 0:12:59.840 --> 0:13:03.280 an example of to say, if you're Palestinian and you're 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:05.679 outspoken about Palestine, this is what will happen to you. 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:08.320 And I put her on the wall to remind my 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:10.839 community and to remind myself that we don't need to 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:15.080 be scared. And I got a lot of backlash for that, 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:21.120 but I think even in that time, despite the backlash, 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:25.320 the amount of community support, amount of opportunity for people 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:29.520 to learn, was that much greater, and so I ended 0:13:29.600 --> 0:13:34.440 up getting a lot more positive attention for my bakery 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:36.320 overall as a result of that. 0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:40.760 How do you have just a few? 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:42.640 It makes me happy every time I wake up with 0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:45.440 a nomination. I'm like, I wonder what the Zionists be thinking. 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:51.600 It gives me a little bit of like hope that 0:13:51.720 --> 0:13:54.160 like our success is kind of like what is threatening, 0:13:54.280 --> 0:13:56.400 you know, because we are truth We are in the 0:13:56.440 --> 0:13:58.560 business of truth telling, and we do it in a 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:02.320 way that's very human, you know, based in our humanity 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:06.640 and our dignity, and that our restaurant was really I 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:09.440 think powerful in that way that a simple art piece 0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:13.240 or the simple act of making food and calling it 0:14:13.360 --> 0:14:18.480 Palestinian was that threatening to the powers that be, you know, Like. 0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:22.800 That's such an interesting backdrop also to talk about the 0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:25.840 feedback we got from the show, because like, I think 0:14:25.880 --> 0:14:32.080 Reem's experience was so was so visceral in that way, 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.520 and I mean what she described as well, and I 0:14:34.600 --> 0:14:36.040 think you can look it up and there have been 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:38.280 articles on Vice and stuff about it where people can 0:14:38.640 --> 0:14:41.800 read about her experience and everything that happened. And you know, 0:14:41.880 --> 0:14:44.800 I think maybe we undersold your intro a little bit 0:14:44.840 --> 0:14:47.720 ram like you're a badass and you know, the James 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:50.280 Beard nooms and a lot of great and awesome press. 0:14:51.320 --> 0:14:56.120 But I think what's interesting about the show is with realms, 0:14:56.880 --> 0:15:02.000 with realms at the restaurant. You know, it's very specifically 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:06.480 Palestinian and Arab food and the show, while yeah, it's 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:10.040 being made by us who are Palestinian people, it's not 0:15:10.600 --> 0:15:16.800 only about Palestine, and that's been something we've sort of 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:21.280 had to overcome. Like the show is about Arabs, and 0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:24.720 it's about our foods and food ways, and as much 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:28.240 as the food, you know, the show. As much as 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:31.840 the show focuses on on Palestine, it also focuses on 0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:34.720 Egypt and Yemen and where you know, I mean the 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:37.800 Yemeni coffee tradition is like where Arab coffee kind of 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:40.080 came from and started from. And it also focused on 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:45.600 Lebanon and Morocco and Algeria. It's been an interesting Yeah, 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:46.320 go ahead. 0:15:46.640 --> 0:15:49.320 Yeah, I was just to that point, like it's it's 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:52.080 not about I mean, first of all, these these these 0:15:52.120 --> 0:15:56.800 states are border right, they're bordered, they're they're colonized states 0:15:56.840 --> 0:16:00.720 in some shape or form, and ideas to fight the 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:04.520 tropes of the Arab as one thing, right, Like it's 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:06.840 showing the breadth and depth of our culture that like 0:16:06.880 --> 0:16:10.280 we're not Hamat, it's not a monolith, we're not homogeneous. 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:15.360 And even the ethos of Reems kind of is very 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:19.600 similar to that idea that yes we are Palestinian, but 0:16:19.640 --> 0:16:22.680 we're also Syrian, we're also Oakland, we're also California, Like 0:16:22.800 --> 0:16:25.960 those things don't need to compete with one another. I 0:16:26.120 --> 0:16:30.360 hate you know, like you know, my identity kind of 0:16:30.360 --> 0:16:33.360 coming on the scene. Yes I'm Arab and yes I'm Palestinian, 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:36.440 but those are political identities. The reason we call our 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:40.280 food Palestinian is to draw attention to the ethnic cleansing. 0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:42.360 And e raisure of our people. That's why we call 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:45.280 it Palestinian. But it's not. There's there are certain foods 0:16:45.280 --> 0:16:46.280 that are not inherent. 0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:49.520 I mean they're enjoyed all over the Arab world and 0:16:49.560 --> 0:16:52.200 they look different, but you can't like the claiming of 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:54.200 ownership of food is yeah, so. 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:54.600 We try to. 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:58.760 I think this show is really trying to fight against 0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:02.920 that of the it's called ada Bia, which is kind 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:04.879 of like a tongue in cheek, like what do you 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:07.720 think of with the Arab woman? And it's like, let 0:17:07.720 --> 0:17:10.640 me take all of those stereotypes and like turn them 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:13.280 on their head. It's the same thing with like all 0:17:13.320 --> 0:17:15.119 of our food ways in our culture. There is no 0:17:15.280 --> 0:17:19.520 singular way of what an Arab is. We all have 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:22.280 kind of our unique stories and histories. So when we 0:17:22.400 --> 0:17:26.040 choose to call things what they are, there's a context 0:17:26.080 --> 0:17:28.320 in a history for that, and that's what we're trying 0:17:28.320 --> 0:17:28.879 to share. 0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:31.879 Yeah, exactly, I think. 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:36.520 I mean, I really really relate to the idea of 0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:40.639 really wanting to be represented with food. Like when I 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:44.680 find a Syrian restaurant, I freak out. Like there's one 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:49.680 alcohol in southern California where it's like my family and 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:51.960 I go there every weekend when I'm down and when 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:54.400 I'm visiting my parents. It's just like a place where 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:58.560 we feel like the closest we can get to home again. 0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:01.400 And I think it's a really important and like reminder 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:05.280 that I don't know, food is food can be really powerful. 0:18:05.320 --> 0:18:07.040 And before I keep rambling, I'm going to take our 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:22.200 break and we'll be right back. And we are back, reim. 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:25.840 You mentioned something earlier that I think is worth touching 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:29.600 back on the idea of like existing being already like 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:33.480 a political act. I think that is like it's a 0:18:33.480 --> 0:18:35.200 burden for a lot of people of color and a 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:38.640 lot of marginalized communities. And I think hand in hand 0:18:38.680 --> 0:18:41.080 with that is the fact that like our food is 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:44.280 also like a political act, like making sure it's couscus 0:18:44.359 --> 0:18:46.960 not is really cuscus or whatever it is that we're 0:18:47.440 --> 0:18:52.240 trying to fight against How do you see food, and 0:18:52.320 --> 0:18:55.879 especially now, I think people underestimate how many levels there 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:59.440 are of ethnic cleansing, because erasing food and appropriating food 0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:02.560 is a huge part of that, right, So can I 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:04.760 get your take on that, both of your takes. 0:19:05.720 --> 0:19:08.640 You mean, like beyond appropriating, Yeah, I mean I think 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:16.359 food is a tool of It is weaponized historically against people, 0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:21.280 I mean most doubtably obviously with seventy five years of 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:30.359 occupation of Palestine. One of the many ways, besides the dispossession, killing, expulsion, 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:34.160 is to sever us from our food ways. And when 0:19:34.200 --> 0:19:37.560 you sever someone from their land that creates the food ways, 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:42.760 you sever them from their culture, from their existence. Then 0:19:42.800 --> 0:19:46.280 there's just the most the more immediate way as we're 0:19:46.400 --> 0:19:50.359 seeing this genocide unfolds, where you can starve a population 0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:54.560 with that, and so food then becomes kind of this 0:19:54.720 --> 0:19:59.880 powerful tool to break a people and why we see 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:04.359 people like food become a form of resistance for people. 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:07.359 But even here in our communities, I mean, this is 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:14.160 not unfortunately unique to the Palestinians. You've seen the pillaging 0:20:14.280 --> 0:20:19.040 of indigenous folks here in this country, the same things 0:20:19.119 --> 0:20:21.760 kind of cutting them off from their food ways, their 0:20:22.200 --> 0:20:25.359 means of subsistence, of supporting one another, of you know, 0:20:25.480 --> 0:20:28.520 being connected to their culture. And now you're seeing in 0:20:28.640 --> 0:20:33.199 communities through economic policy, like food deserts and people not 0:20:33.240 --> 0:20:36.640 being able to access their food or have sovereignty over 0:20:36.680 --> 0:20:41.639 their food production. So it is absolutely a tool and 0:20:43.280 --> 0:20:45.520 something that we talk about at REAMS a lot that 0:20:45.600 --> 0:20:48.359 like the fight for Palestine is the fight for food 0:20:48.400 --> 0:20:50.359 sovereignty everywhere and vice versa. 0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:54.600 Right, Well, I'm glad you brought up the idea of 0:20:56.720 --> 0:20:59.920 or just the fact that like Israel and design is 0:21:00.359 --> 0:21:03.040 has like taken Palestinians from their land. And I've talked 0:21:03.040 --> 0:21:06.080 about this before on this podcast, but like the olive 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:09.760 tree is a very significant part of Palestinian culture, and 0:21:09.840 --> 0:21:13.280 like olive harvesting is a huge part of Palestinian life. 0:21:13.280 --> 0:21:16.240 And so when you burn down thousands of olive trees, 0:21:16.320 --> 0:21:19.120 or when you kick people out of like thet agriculturally 0:21:19.240 --> 0:21:23.400 rich parts of the land, you're denying them so much 0:21:23.440 --> 0:21:26.560 more than just olives. It's like very deep. And I 0:21:26.600 --> 0:21:30.080 think when people that are not as informed about Palestine 0:21:30.240 --> 0:21:33.320 question like why is there a watermelon? Like what's this? 0:21:33.400 --> 0:21:36.360 And what's the olive about? And I think that goes 0:21:36.400 --> 0:21:39.560 to show how powerful food can be. And just for 0:21:39.600 --> 0:21:43.119 those who don't know, the watermelon became an active or 0:21:43.240 --> 0:21:45.840 a symbol of resistance because the Palestinia flag was not 0:21:45.880 --> 0:21:48.080 allowed to be raised for a while and it has 0:21:48.080 --> 0:21:50.200 the same colors as the Palestinian flag, and so that's 0:21:50.240 --> 0:21:53.840 just like a really beautiful way that food has become 0:21:53.880 --> 0:21:58.080 this like powerful symbol. And so I just I just 0:21:58.119 --> 0:22:02.679 trying to know emphasize that a little bit. I guess, Jabill, 0:22:02.720 --> 0:22:03.280 what's your take. 0:22:04.320 --> 0:22:08.320 Yeah, I mean I think that I think just I'll 0:22:08.359 --> 0:22:10.639 speak like a little bit more domestically. I feel like 0:22:10.720 --> 0:22:13.800 Raem is so eloquent and talking about historic parts of it, 0:22:14.240 --> 0:22:16.440 but I mean even here, like domestically in Los Angeles 0:22:16.480 --> 0:22:18.480 or California, I think one of the things, and it 0:22:18.560 --> 0:22:20.280 kind of goes back to what we were talking about earlier. 0:22:20.720 --> 0:22:22.480 One of the things that's one of the things that's 0:22:22.520 --> 0:22:28.919 difficult is there are so few identifying parts of or 0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:32.080 just restaurants in general, like correctly identifying restaurants Syria in 0:22:32.119 --> 0:22:36.240 or lebaneses or Palestinian or what have you, and they 0:22:36.320 --> 0:22:40.920 hide under these names, which when I'm not going to 0:22:41.000 --> 0:22:44.080 name like specific restaurants here, but like which when other 0:22:44.200 --> 0:22:49.040 restaurants open and maybe they're owned by an Italian person 0:22:49.200 --> 0:22:53.240 or just other people that aren't Arab, and suddenly they're 0:22:53.560 --> 0:22:58.000 taking the food and misappropriating it and calling it. Yeah, 0:22:58.040 --> 0:23:01.240 I mean, Israeli kuskus are like is rarely salad or 0:23:02.000 --> 0:23:05.640 Israeli falaffle or hey, here's all this food and it's 0:23:05.640 --> 0:23:10.440 shuarma and it's kebabs and it's menish and we're an 0:23:10.440 --> 0:23:13.560