Set on banquet tables, the earthenware bowls overflowed with hummus, carrots seasoned with cumin and labneh. Saturday, October 11 was a festive day at Consulat Voltaire, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. About 100 people came to raise a glass at the launch of Sababa, the taste of peace, the capital’s first pop-up Palestinian-Israeli restaurant. The new venue is housed beneath the industrial-style nave of a former electricity generator, now an independent cultural center. Here, people from the local north-east Paris neighborhood can sample maqlouba made from rice, meat and fried vegetables or chicken shawarma, dishes enjoyed both by Israelis from Tel Aviv and by Palestinians from Gaza.
The brains behind this unique restaurant are a duo comprised of a French-Israeli man, Edgar Laloum, 78, and a French-Palestinian man, Radjaa Aboudagga, 58. The two met a year ago, united by this small gastronomic and political utopia, convinced that the pleasures of culinary arts could bring their peoples closer together.
«In both Jewish and Muslim traditions, the [dinner] table is a sacred place, a space for exchange,» said Laloum, his face tanned and beard white, who sees it as a sign that «the words young Israelis have adopted from Arabic are all those belonging to the realm of hospitality, joy of living and conviviality.» In both Israel and Palestine, sababa means «joy of living.»
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