Israel offended Japan's prime minister by serving him dessert out of a shoe, which Japanese people '

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife had their dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife interrupted by an offensive cultural faux pas — dessert was served in a shoe.

Shoes are "despised" in Japanese culture, and it's a weird idea in any case to serve food out of a shoe.

A Japanese diplomat called it offensive and questioned what the meal, prepared by an Israeli celebrity chef, was trying to accomplish.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife had their dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife interrupted by an offensive cultural faux pas — dessert was served in a shoe.

While serving food out of a shoe seems like an odd choice for any culture, it has a special and offensive connotation in Japan.

"This was a stupid and insensitive decision," a senior Israeli diplomat who served in Japan told Hebrew-language Yediot Aharonot, according to JPost.

"There is nothing more despised in Japanese culture than shoes. Not only do they not enter their houses while wearing shoes, you will not find shoes in their offices either. Even the prime minister, ministers and members of parliament do not wear shoes to work... It is equivalent to serving a Jewish guest chocolates in a dish shaped like a pig," the diplomat said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israel-offended-japans-prime-minister-by-serving-him-dessert-out-of-a-shoe-which-japanese-people-despise/ar-AAwSM8j?li=BBnbfcL

Bibi is such a clASS act.

[guillaumeb]

1. Also very offensive in Arab culture.

A deliberate insult, in my view.

[Blue_true]

5. That is why the guy three both his shoes at Bush.

Throwing the shoe was the highest insult that he could issue toward Bush, it effectively said that Bush was dirty swine not worthy of more than being hit by a shoe that may have stepped in filth at some time.

[grantcart]

35. And Thai. Unbelievable

[Dawson Leery]

2. A deliberate insult by a thug.

[malaise]

37. There is no other interpretation

[dalton99a]

3. "No culture puts shoes on the table"

"No culture puts shoes on the table," a Japanese diplomat told the Hebrew website. "What precisely was this illustrious chef Segev thinking? If this is meant to be humor, we do not find it funny. I can tell you that we are offended for our prime minister," said the diplomat.

[Kirk Lover]

4. I think this is a pretty universal no no here. What there's no google in Israel ? WTF is going on

over there....they drinking tRUMP water ?

[Blue_true]

7. Bibi worked on Wall Street.

Some in that crowd have been known to drink alcohol from a shoe is celebration.

[dalton99a]

9. Next visit they'll offer him tea in a toilet-shaped mug

[boston bean]

6. Was it a shoe made of white chocolate or a leather loafer?

[ProudLib72]

10. Metal?

The article said the shoes were metal sculptures.

The Times of Israel quotes a source close to the celebrity chef who is also an author and TV personality as saying the shoes were actually a metal sculpture.

[boston bean]

13. Weird. I don't think I would find it appetizing either.

[oberliner]

8. Headline is a lie

It wasn't an actual shoe.

[MineralMan]

11. There is a photo of the dessert at the link.

Looks exactly like a shoe to me.

[oberliner]

12. The dessert was not served in a real shoe

but in a metal sculpture by industrial designer Tom Dixon.

[LisaL]

18. I would hope they didn't put food in dirty old shoe.

Still don't get the idea as to why it was served in a replica that looked exactly like the real deal. Who finds that appetizing?

[Hekate]

22. So it's an exact replica. Does that spell "class" to you? I looked at the photo...

That dessert does not look appetizing. Or amusing.

Many cultures around the world thnk of feet and shoes as dirty. They leave their shoes and sandals outside the door. Showing the soles of your feet to a guest (as might happen in cultures where people sit on the floor) is considered insulting.

Japan is one of these cultures. But the Israeli chef doesn't have to look that far to find an example: the same goes for the Arabic/Middle Eastern cultures that interpenetrate Israel itself.

[RockRaven]

28. Well this isn't a real gas-chamber

it's just a metal replica designed to roast marshmallows instead of poisoning European Jews, so there's no way Bibi would be offended by this desert presentation at my state dinner, right?

[Tarc]

38. Distinction without a difference

Netanyahu cheerleader, are we?

[MineralMan]

43. It was still a very good likeness of a shoe.

It represented a shoe. It accurately duplicate a shoe. Visually, it was precisely a shoe, regardless of the materials.

I saw the photo of it. Without close examination, it appeared to be a shoe. Dessert was served in it. It was a dessert served in a representation of a shoe to a world leader.

It was a Magritte image of a shoe. It doesn't matter, because it was a dessert served in a shoe for all intents and purposes.

[MosheFeingold]

44. Little Magritte trivia

I know about because I have a Salvadore Dali plate inscribed "This is a plate" as a bit of a joke in response.

The "this is not a pipe" is an allusion to Winston Churchill walking into a meeting of generals with a table top map with positions of troops on it. They were discussing grandiose future plans for the territory during the war.

Churchill looked at it and sneered, "the map is not the territory, gentlemen. Win the territory, then draw the map."

It was considered quite rude, but quite correct. Typical Churchill, in other words.

[MineralMan]

46. Magritte's picture has served its purpose very well over time.

In reality, representations of things are often taken to be the things they represent. That's a logical error, of course, but a natural one, made by most people in some circumstances.

Serving dessert in a very accurate representation of a shoe is equivalent to serving it in an actual shoe, really. The result is a problem, if you serve it to a person for whom a shoe is a loathsome object.

It was a terrible decision on the part of that chef. Probably just a stupid mistake, though, which I'm sure Abe recognized as such, really.

A cultural faux pas can be explained, but it would be better if it were avoided in the first place, I think.

[left-of-center2012]

14. Netanyahu's a jerk like his buddy Trump

From the linked article:

[scarletwoman]

15. Aside from the insult, it's just idiotic. Why would *anyone* want to eat from a shoe?

What the hell does a shoe have to do with dessert? What the hell does a shoe have to do with any kind of food?

Can anyone think of a food/shoe metaphor? I sure can't.

[Generic Brad]

16. I'm sure it had a kick

[scarletwoman]

20. Only if it was laced with booze.

[Retrograde]

17. Charlie Chaplin in "The Gold Rush" ate a shoe

although I think it was a stunt shoe. And Sir John Franklin, noted for losing himself and all his men in the Arctic in the 1840s, was known as the "man who ate his shoes" because he boiled the leather for nourishment on a previous expedition. But starving ad literally having nothing else to eat except leather is not the same as using shoes as serving platters at a formal dinner.

Using unusual objects as serving dishes isn't new, and IMHO is a sign that the chef isn't quite sure of their food being able to stand o]n its own. This website has some dumb examples.

[OneBro]

21. Did you notice the pic of soup in a (cup in a) shoe?

[GoCubsGo]

19. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks it was bizarre.

The napkins stuffed in that thing look like dirty socks.

[miyazaki]

24. Rolf.

What a bunch of dumbasses.

[Buns_of_Fire]

34. Filet of sole?

But that would be more appropriate for the main course, not dessert.

For dessert, I would have recommended a scoop of chocolate ice cream on a bed of tasty edible underwear.

That Bibi, he's such a cutup.

[left-of-center2012]

39. "chocolate ice cream on a bed of tasty edible underwear"

[Cha]

23. I must be sheltered.. I've never

heard of food served out of a shoe.. dessert or otherwise

Did they have to go out of their way to offend the Japanese?

[oasis]

25. It's time Bibi got the boot.

[DavidDvorkin]

26. This is surely due to stupidity or ignorance, not malice

What reason could there be for a deliberate insult? That would make no sense.

[RockRaven]

27. I'm rather skeptical

that someone who lives in a nation surrounded by nations of people who are obviously offended by shoe-related maneuvers would accidentally be so careless as to serve someone food in a shoe without finding out whether or not their nation also had a tendency to be offended by shoe-related maneuvers.

[JI7]

31. actually i can see them thinking it's more of an Islamic thing because of that so they wouldn't

even think it would be an issue with Japan.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

33. I once read somewhere that...

most mature governments have cultural experts that cross-check everything for state functions to insure there's nothing culturally sensitive or offensive to any guests, and that protocol is correct.

Apparently, that guy in Israel was off for the day......

[NBachers]

29. A Giuliani - level fuckup

[KY_EnviroGuy]

32. K&R - LOL, thread winner in my book. n/t

[Scurrilous]

30. Who keeps food in a shoe?

[oberliner]

41. The dessert was served inside a sculpture by international artist Tom Dixon

“The dessert was served inside a sculpture by international artist Tom Dixon, whose works are displayed in major museums around the world and for the first time was displayed in Israel at a meal. This is a high-quality piece of art made of cast metal in the shape of a shoe; it is not a real shoe,” Segev's publicist said in a statement, according to Yediot Aharonot.

[madaboutharry]

36. The entire idea is bizarre.

The shoe in question, if you read the article, is actually a bowl shaped like a shoe - not a real shoe. But why food would have been served to the Japanese PM like this indicates someone wasn't doing his job very well.

[oberliner]

42. The appetizers were served in hands

[betsuni]

40. A chef trying to be creative without actual talent.

Common problem these days, wanting to be "creative."

[MosheFeingold]

45. Sushi is often served on wooden sandals in the West

I wonder if this is an in-joke among the Japanese chefs.