I am a Jew and live in Israel
I got to eat hummus (at least once a week)
Regarding handwashing, here is some information

Between 1347 and 1351 Europe attacked the plague of the "black thing" which destroyed about a third of Europe's population. It was interesting to discover that among the Jews the plague was almost invisible (in the rest of the population it was attacked by one in three people, whereas only one out of every 12 Jews was injured). Doctors and scientists who examined the issue concluded that the reason for this was the taking of the hands - the fact that the Jews took a lot of hands during the day, by virtue of their lifestyle, led them to a higher level of hygiene, thereby saving them from the plague.