Pranab Mukherjee's 'hummus' comment leaves Israelis puzzled

Knesset, Oct 15: President Pranab Mukherjee, who currently is in Israel, raised a few eyebrows recently while he was addressing the Israeli Parliament. In an attempt to strike a cultural connect between India and Israel, Mukherjee said that 'Indians love Hummus.'

While Mukherjee was merely trying to say how much Indians loved hummus (a middle-eastern dip popular in India as well), the Israeli MPs looked at each other in shock as Mukherjee pronounced the word as 'Hamas.'

Mukherjee, whose native language is Bengali, said 'Hummus' while the Israeli Parliament heard it as 'Hamas', the Palestinian group that has been at war with Israel for a long time. The group presently rules the Gaza strip and is known for its cross-border attacks.

Hummus is a middle-eastern dip made with chickpeas and is normally eaten with a flat bread.

Meanwhile, prime minister Netanyahu said that Indians were always welcome in Israel. Netanyahu also said that both India and Israel were attacked by radical terrorists groups and that both the countries must come together to fight terrorism.

OneIndia News