Falafel, hummus, tabouleh, maftoul, the zaatar, fallahi salad, Nabulsi knafeh, and other Palestinian foods are often appropriated.
– or more accurately stolen – by Israel’s Jewish colonists over the decades, a whole slew of justifications have emerged in the western press.
Across Canada, restaurants appropriate Palestinian food, and people are pointing these out. We call you to do your research and be sure that you are supporting Palestinian eateries, and are boycotting apartheid food-washing appropriation.
In the News:
- Uber Eats labels Palestinian restaurants in Toronto as ‘Israeli,’ sparking uproar
- Victory: Uber Eats creates Palestinian category after Toronto restaurant controversy
Be sure to support and celebrate their win to get Uber to stop appropriation
Levant Pizza
899 Bloor St W. Toronto
Yaffa Shawarma and Falafel
Yaffa Shawarma and Falafel is a Middle Eastern restaurant located in Toronto, Ontario, founded by a group of people with varied backgrounds, including Israeli and Palestinian.
“We’re a group of friends with different origins—some of us Israeli, some of us Palestinian, some of us Canadian—it doesn’t matter, we all love and appreciate a style of cuisine that is unparalleled. To make our restaurants and our relationships work, we leave politics aside.” – co-owner Arie Dimant
The owners of Yaffa are Arie Dimant, Nader Arafat Kadri, Fadi Hakim, Yossi Mizrachi, Mark Kupfert.
https://torontolife.com/food/whats-on-the-menu-yaffa-shawarma-and-falafel-middle-eastern/
Oddly the restaurant was founded in June of 2024, which seems a strange time for Israelis and Palestinians to insist they’re ‘putting politics aside’, but makes a bit more sense when one discovers the group are also co-owners of the Jean Darlene Piano Bar, The Haifa Room, another restaurant that serves Middle Eastern food, and The Haifa Bar in Vancouver, B.C.
The Vancouver restaurant was originally scheduled to open in July of this year, but because of construction delays it was pushed to mid-November, placing the opening in the midst of the tragic conflict in Gaza and Israel.
“At first, words failed us. We’re devastated. We all have family members living in Palestine and Israel,” said Hakim. “As we grapple with the situation, we grieve for all the civilians, our helplessness. For now, our focus is connecting people through shared experience and finding a commonality between people through food.”
https://www.tvo.org/video/the-haifa-room-a-recipe-for-peace
https://www.thehaifaroom.com/about
The restaurant identifies several signature dishes as being ‘Israeli’ and serves Yaffa OJ, made with Jaffa oranges. The oranges are grown in Israel and the Palestinian territories. They are named after the ancient port city of Jaffa, which is now part of Tel Aviv. The Jaffa name also denotes a global brand for the export of Israeli citrus fruit, and is owned by the Citrus Marketing Board of Israel.
https://www.blogto.com/restaurants/yaffa-shawarma-and-falafel-toronto/
Becked Goods is a Toronto bakery located in the St. Clair West neighbourhood. The bakery is known for pastries such as chocolate rugelach, a confection with a rich chocolate filling that originated in the Jewish communities of Poland.
The business tarted as an Instagram account for pastry-school student Rebecca Howard to share her experiences, and quickly evolved into a side business. By 2020, it had become her full-time venture, initially operating out of her parents’ kitchen. In October 2022, Howard opened the brick-and-mortar location at 684 St. Clair Ave W (Rear Unit).
https://www.tastetoronto.com/stories/this-secret-laneway-bakery-is-st-clairs-newest-hidden-gem
https://www.instagram.com/to_finest/reel/CvGZCQPuSD-/
Israel Connections
Becked Goods has shown support for Israel through various initiatives. In October 2023, they participated in a “Rugs (as in Rugelachs) for Israel” event in collaboration with UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.
https://www.instagram.com/beckedgoods/p/CySJGvVAAyz/
In November 2023, Howard’s Becked Goods organized a “Rugelach Bake for Israel” fundraiser at Holy Blossom Temple. The event included baking, shopping, and raising money for the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Federation’s Emergency Campaign for Israel.
https://www.instagram.com/beckedgoods/reel/Czm1S07gFVk/
More Examples of Appropriation, and/or complicity with war crimes with locations in settlements,
Cafe Landwer -an Israeli company that has locations in Canada and the US, and attracted international criticism after opening a location in Jerusalem on top of the remains of an important Muslim cemetery
Aroma– store in Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim. Buys milk from Israeli settlements. 15+ years of boycott in Canada.
Miznon Toronto an Israeli restaurant with locations around the world including now Toronto, which features various cultural Palestinian dishes such as hummus and falafel as Israeli foods.
Anti-Palestinian Racism and support of Israel military
Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt – CEO Amit Kleinberger attributes his successful enterprise to his time in the Israeli military.
Moxies: employees fired for supporting a pro-Palestinian protestors in Toronto
Tap & Barrel Restaurants, multiple locations, Vancouver, for hosting pro Israel Uri Goldflam for gathering of British Columbia chapter of YPO, Young Presidents Organization. Restaurant CEO, Daniel Frankel posted statements about this on his social media, but when people referenced the islamophobia he made his account private.
Cake It Toronto, features Israeli flags
Dr. Laffa Kosher is a Jewish-run restaurant business known for specializing in laffas, a type of large soft flatbread used as a wrap for various Middle Eastern dishes. The company includes Dr. Laffa On The Go in North York, and Dr. Laffa Restaurant in Thornhill . Yoram Gabay is listed as the sole owner of Dr. Laffa. He opened a full-service restaurant in Thornhill, described as being “as close to being in Israel without being in Israel”, and Gabay imports spices for his restaurants directly from Israel every few weeks. Mizrachi, a charity that has been asked to be investigated by the Canada Revenue Agency, offers a discount for “members.”
These restaurants:
Boycott restaurants supporting Israel
According to the Mayniaga.com comprehensive list of restaurants with strong ties to Israel, (see the Mayniaga list for the accompanying proofs) the following restaurants are involved McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Taco Bell, Popeyes.
There is currently a global boycott campaign against McDonalds. McDonald’s Israeli franchisee has supported the Israeli occupation forces with free McDonald’s meals during the ongoing genocide of 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, prompting the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) to endorse the worldwide boycott campaigns targeting McDonald’s to end complicity in apartheid Israel’s crimes.McDonald’s franchisee in Malaysia, owned by the Saudi company, Lionhorn Pte Ltd, has filed a SLAPP (“Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation”) lawsuit against BDS Malaysia, a solidarity group advocating justice and equality for Palestinians, accusing it of “defamation” and seeking damages of over $1 million.
The Canadian BDS Coalition calls on all individuals of conscience to boycott all restaurant chains with close ties to apartheid Israel (currently facing the formal accusation of genocide at the International Court of Justice) and all Canadian restaurants whose owners have made public statements in support of Israel’s genocidal campaign or who have in any other way helped to raise funds for the Israel occupation forces currently massacring Palestinian civilians. More than 23, 000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Of these more than 10, 000 are children and more than 7, 000 are women.
The Canadian BDS Coalition calls upon members of the public to note any statements made on social media by restaurants supporting Israel’s illegal and immoral campaign in Gaza, to render them public and to boycott those particular restaurants. In the wake of the genocide taking place in Gaza and the accompanying hundreds of deaths and arrests in the occupied Palestinian West Bank being committed by Israel occupation forces and illegal Israeli settlers, all those who call for the support of Israel’s genocidal campaign are themselves complicit in that genocide.
Please share other restaurants that are supporting apartheid, that are appropriating Palestinian cuisine, that are operating in illegal settlements (war crimes), supporting the Israeli military, practicing anti-Palestinian racism.
Let us know also about Palestinian restaurants across Canada.
To contact the Canadian BDS Coalition: https://
