Recently, amidst the recent outbreak of violence in Israel, a restauranteur offered a 50 percent discount on each plate of hummus ordered by Jewish and Arab patrons who dined together. This story went viral. It reminds us that food can bring people together.

Food brought Yotam Ottolengi and Sami Tamimi together. They are the chefs behind the runaway bestseller Jerusalem: A Cookbook. It highlights an odd mix of flavors drawing upon recipes indigenous to Jerusalem. But the truly pleasing odd mix is that Yotam is from West Jerusalem—an Israeli, and Sami is from East Jerusalem—a Palestinian. They are the best of friends and food is their common bond.

In this beautifully illustrated book, the recipes, by these two London-based chefs, come alive with mouth-watering anticipation. Every recipe, whether it is from Christian, Jewish or Muslim influences, transcends politics and hopefully should make you realize the futility of this conflict.

So let’s sit down and eat and talk. We're particularly partial to the lamb shawarma.

Make food, not war-- hopefully from a recipe found in this scrumptious book.

For a donation of $108 or more, APN will send you this book. Please note that all but $21 of your donation will be tax deductible and please be sure to put “Jerusalem - The Cookbook” in the comment field. Thank you.