The Israeli military recently sent one of its secret weapons to Russia: a delegation of cooks to participate in a competition for army and field kitchens. For one stage of the competition, our excellent cooks came in third place out of the six armies that took part in the competition. A salad called “Beautiful Moscow” consisting of a potato salad garnished with soft-boiled eggs and smoked meats received a special commendation, as did the IDF’s “Black Sea compote.”

Israel’s ambassador to Russia, Gary Koren, made a point of visiting his fellow Israelis during the competition. An additional event in the competition was shooting with a Kalashnikov rifle. “The Russians believe that you must first be a good soldier before you can be a good cook,” Major Yafit Edri, who led the Israeli delegation, said with a smile.

Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Schweigo and Chief of the General Staff Valery Grasimov clearly enjoyed eating Israeli falafel and hummus. Grasimov even waved the Israeli flag!

There was a diplomatic incident when the cooks from the Iranian army refused to...