Longing for the aromas of Baghdad: food, emigration, and transformation in the lives of Iraqi Jews in Israel in the 1950s

This chapter discusses changes in the food and diet of the Jews who emigrated from Iraq following the establishment of the state of Israel. Between May 1950 and August 1951, 125,000 Jews who had experienced economic and political persecution in Iraq moved to Israel. Given similarities in climate and agriculture between Israel and other Middle Eastern countries, researchers assumed that certain “eastern” eating habits would be adopted by the Israeli public at large, benefiting Israeli nutrition while also promoting ethnic diversity. However, the new immigrants abandoned their traditional eating habits in favour of Israeli habits, which were defined as “western.” It was found out that many of the central ingredients of traditional Iraqi cookery such as lamb, rice, bulgur, and fried or grilled fish, were being used less, whereas the use of noodles and potato flour increased.