Current sectionFoodThe powerful forces that transformed hummus into Israel's national food – and a national obsessionShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeHummus at the Abu Ghanem restaurant in Nof Hagalil.07:40 AM • July 18 2026 IDTThe year 1958 marked a turning point in the history of hummus in Israel. In the second half of the 1950s, in light of the growing popularity of foods like hummus, tahini and falafel, Telma, a local food company, decided to add them to their line of products.In the News'Before 1948, Hummus Was an Arab Food. Most European Jews Never Ate It'For Seventh Night in a Row, U.S. Launches Strikes on Iranian InfrastructureThe Most Optimistic Israeli in Jerusalem Is Leaving the CountryU.S. Strikes Iran for Seventh Night as Gulf Tensions EscalateIsraeli Settlers Filmed Taking Palestinians' Livestock Under IDF ProtectionRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIInside the Mossad Plot to Install Ahmadinejad as Iran's LeaderNetanyahu's Biggest Challenger: Who Is Gadi Eisenkot and What Does He Stand For?103 House Democrats Vote to Cut U.S. Aid to Israel in Landmark Symbolic VoteEisenkot Is Quietly Gaining Ground in Likud Territory. Enough to Beat Netanyahu?Ro Khanna, U.S. Lawmaker & Israel Critic, Says West Bank Settlers 'Detained' HimI Joined Rep. Ro Khanna on His West Bank Visit. Here's What I Saw