Lentil Soup for the soul ✨️

I cooked my favourite soup this week.

And as I stood there, slowly stirring the pot, (one of my FAVOURITE activities)...

I realised something:

This soup, symbolises part of the process for me unravelling from the Zi0nist clutches.

I'll try to explain:

When I lived in the Adelaide Hills,
I discovered an Israe|i bakery, that sold the most delicious lentil soup.

I was a single mum, with two young kids, and was offered to do promotional work for the bakery.

Which meant, lots of bowls of delicious lentil soup: that they referred to as "Israe|i Soup."

In my ten years living in Jerusalem, from age ten to twenty, I had never tasted this soup.

But of course, I started calling it Israe|i Soup as well.

I learned how to make it, and it has converted countless lentil haters over the years.

Occasionally someone would question why I called it Israe|i Soup. And I'd wholeheartedly explain, how Jews came from all around the globe and brought with us foods from every region.
This was absolute truth for me.
In 2014, when I first realised that I had been lied to about Israe|...I had no idea that it included the narrative about "our" food.

So for quite a few years, I kept calling it "Israe|i Soup".

Then that started feeling clumsy, so I changed it to "Jerusalem Soup."

That felt better for a while.

Then I must have entered my "coexistance era"...because I started calling it "Peace Soup". (🙈)

I'm embarrassed to admit, that it's actually not many years ago, (probably post covid years)...that I've realised the soup's true name:

PALEST|NIAN LENTIL SOUP!!!!!

Those dots only connected as I became more & more familiar with the Pa|estinian people, culture and story.

Something that was deliberately erased for me as an immigrant growing up in the apartheid, colonial state of "Israe|".

It wasn't Jews who brought the soup with them.

The soup was already there!

And sure, it was influenced by "outside" sources. Because the Levantine people were not contained by the pretend borders of what we now refer to as Israe|.

So yes, you'll find this soup in Lebanon for example.

I know you'll ask me for the recipe. So please google "Pa|estinian lentil soup recipe" and you'll find what you're looking for.

I use green lentils.
I only use cumin powder and sticks of cinnamon for spices.

The lemon juice is key.

Served with olive oil and sumac...and fresh coriander for those who love it.