Lebanon: Israel stole our falafel

[sharonbn]

Roee Nahmias
Published: 10.06.08, 09:10 / Israel Money

Lebanon is planning on filing an international law suit against Israel for violating a food copyright, Fadi Abboud, president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association, told the al-Arabiya network.

The Lebanese claim is that Israel markets original Lebanese food like tabouleh, kubbeh, hummus, falafel and fattoush which the Lebanese considered their trademarks prior to the establishment of the Jewish state.

Abboud explained that the fact that Israel has been marketing Lebanese delicacies under the same names and ingredients around the world has caused great losses to Lebanon, and that while, “the full extent is unknown, it is estimated at tens of millions of dollars annually.”

Abboud, who prepared a memo on the subject, based his case on the, ”feta cheese precedent” that occurred six years ago.

At that time, France, Denmark and Germany asserted that Greece cannot have a monopoly over the production of this type of cheese. Greece managed to prove in international institutions that it is the cheese’s “originator” and won the case.

Until that point, the three prosecuting countries produced 12,000 tons of cheese a year.

The court ruled that from then on, other countries could not use the name “feta”, as this cheese is “largely associated with Greece’s history and has been produced under this name for 6,000 years.”

Thus, the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs decided to grant Greece the sole right to produce and market the cheese under that name.

The Lebanese official claims that not only does Israel use the names of Lebanese foods but it also markets them in ready-to-eat plastic boxes for European and US consumers as if these were traditional Israeli foods.

According to Abboud, while Lebanon never registered the names and ingredients of these delicacies, “it can refer to the Greece precedent since these foods are historically known as traditional Lebanese foods.”

He also said that the Lebanese Industrialists Association is working on registering all the foods and ingredients and submitting a report to the Lebanese government since only it can appeal to the international courts against Israel and “prevent it from stealing the foods that others produce."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...605773,00.html

[sharonbn]

afaik, Falafel is regarded as traditional Egyptian delicacy...

[Mil]

Fine. We can copy-right the hell out of their Koran!!!!!

Are Arabs just a bunch of idiots?

[bararallu]

One of the fundamentally wrong things in Arabic culture, near and far, is that they have a very severe form of envy. They seemingly cant connect effort with success. Rather than compete in the market place they try to arbitrarily seclude others from participating. That is why there cannot be an Arab common market, much less a middle eastern one with them in predominant position. They are too economically naive, culturally skittish or ethically corrupt to envision a cooperative regional economy. This was tested with the Camp David accords, were the Egyptians summarily reneged on the terms- refusing Israeli businesses to enter Egypt and vice versa. Consequently, transferring our technology to them is a bad idea, because nothing comes back, it's a bloody sinkhole.

Oh on the subject of Egypt, there was a law suit there too... of Arabs, ironically, trying to sue "the Jews", aka Israel in the ICJ over gold stolen from the Pharaohs by Mosses et al, lol. I for one, am ready to return all that gold to the Copts (or really help develop Egypt into a modern country), once the colonizing Arabs vacate their said property.

[redcake]

One of the fundamentally wrong things in Arabic culture, near and far, is that they have a very severe form of envy. They seemingly cant connect effort with success.

Incredibly true. As awful as it sounds, I don't think we can accurately discuss all of this without a firm understanding on the cultural psyche at play. It's what every business man dealing in Arab markets must learn, and politiclaly speaking, it's a huge flaw that our politicians and leaders representing us in negotiations do not seem to have a clue how to deal with people in that part of the world.

[Mil]

The main problem Arabs have is that they are very socially conservative. Somehow they don't understand that five century-old traditions don't apply anymore.

[Mediocrates]

Yeah it all sounds retarded until the EU demands that all Israeli goods carry a little yellow star on them. Wait for it, it's coming.

Come to think if it, Israel should copywrite the entire Arabic language which is derived from Hebrew.

[GratefulFred]

Last I checked our neighbor to the north was called "Hezbollahland".

I checked for it on some Syrian map and couldn't find it either.

[Mil]

We should copyright Theory of Relativity.... this will solve the Iran-nuke problem

[Mil]

But they do have a sense of humor

Yemen nabs 'Israel-linked' terror cell
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Monday announced the capture of an Islamist "terrorist cell" he said was linked to Israel.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah...


"A terrorist cell was arrested five days ago and will be referred to the judicial authorities for its links with the Israeli intelligence services," Saleh was quoted as saying by Yemen's official Saba news agency.

The group was acting under "the slogan of Islam," he added.

Saleh made the statement in a meeting with tribal leaders, politicians and defense officials at Al-Mukalla University in the eastern province of Hadramawt.

Saleh would not say how many were detained or expound on the cell's alleged links to the intelligence services of the Jewish State.

"Details of the trial will be announced later," he told the gathered personages.

"You will hear about what goes on in the proceedings," the Yemeni president said, urging his country's political parties to close ranks in the struggle against terrorism, Saba reported.

[bararallu]

Probably a clan squabble about the family camel, or the 1976 gutted FIAT being pulled by said camel.