If you've been on Instagram or Tiktok in the past several weeks since Oct. 7 and the taking of the Israeli hostages, you've probably seen #BringThemHomeNow, a hashtag adopted by social media influencers to speak about the hostages. Videos give background about the hostages and brings home the reality that these are real people experiencing unimaginable horror and deserve immediate safe return to Israel.
A new trend is now taking off.
#Recipes4Return
Enter #Recipes 4 Return -- where influencers share the stories of the Israeli hostages through the medium of food. One video shares Romi Gonen's favorite dish being made, a meat Goulash, just the way her mother makes it. Melinda Strauss retells Romi's tragic experience on Oct. 7 and makes Romi’s life story known to a larger audience.
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Karina Engelbert is a 51-year-old woman who made Aliyah from Argentina, she is currently held captive by Hamas with her husband and their two young daughters. In this video we see Karina’s famous Argentinian Alfajores being made.
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Another video details Omer's story. Omer was at the Nova music festival and was kidnapped. Omer loved to do impressions, play the guitar, and dreams of one day being an actor. He also has Celiac’s disease, a disease which means he is unable to eat gluten. He was planning to travel to Amsterdam for a DJ festival later that week, where he would've enjoyed mountains of Pommes Frites, the recipe in the video. Instead he is being held captive by Hamas, and who knows if he’s getting gluten-free food.
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Food has the power to connect. Many of my strongest memories of friends and relatives have come from shared meals and special dishes enjoyed together.
John S. Allen, esteemed neuroanthropologist puts it best: "We all have our food memories, some good and some bad. The taste, smell, and texture of food can be extraordinarily evocative, bringing back memories not just of eating food itself but also of place and setting. Food is an effective trigger of deeper memories of feelings and emotions, internal states of the mind and body."
While we may not remember much of our ancestors, their recipes for cholent and matzah ball soup are unforgettable.
The War on Memory
We all have our own unique strengths and ways in which we are able to make an impact. These chefs and cooking influencers are using their platforms and fan bases to make a meaningful statement to the world, promoting awareness of the situation while others seek to obfuscate the clear inhumanity of Hamas and the immediacy of the situation in Gaza.
They are also reminding us that we each have a platform -- whether it's our friends and family on Facebook, or our followers on Instagram -- and have the power to inspire change in others and give a voice to the hostages. So make your next meal in honor of one of the hostages held captive in Gaza. Your food holds more power than you think.
