Just over 60 years old, Israel has a surprisingly diverse and rich food tradition which has been shaped by Jewish refugees arriving from all over the world. Traditionally people think of Falafel as Israel's national dish Immigrants coming from Germany, Poland, Russia and its surrounding countries (known as Ashkenazi) and Jews from Spain and the Middle East (known as Sephardi) all brought a melting pot of their own Jewish cultural traditions mixed with cuisine from the country they were fleeing from to create the rich texture of what is Israeli cuisine today.
