Kosher restaurant chain in Washington boycotted into bankruptcy for selling ‘apartheid’ falafel - The Jewish Chronicle

Shouk, an Israeli-inspired kosher restaurant chain serving plant-based fare in and around Washington DC for the last decade, was forced to close the last of its five locations last week following a sustained boycott campaign by pro-Palestinian activists.

Campaign groups including DC for Palestine and Washington Socialist had been calling on locals to boycott the chain since the war in Gaza began, claiming that Shouk’s falafel-centric menu appropriated Palestinian cuisine and accusing the business of being “complicit in Israeli apartheid” because it imported Israeli products and brands.

Jewish owners Dennis Friedman and Ran Nussbacher said the ongoing harassment and loss of revenue as a result of the boycott made it impossible to keep the business afloat.

Friedman told the Guardian: “The ability to continue to operate wasn’t there. I feel terrible because Shouk wasn’t a political place; Shouk was a place for people to come together. To become a target and be mislabelled and thrown into things that aren’t true is unfortunate.”

Ran Nussbacher and Dennis Friedman, co-founders of Shouk, in Washington DC in 2019. (Photo: Laura Chase de Formigny for the Washington Post via Getty Images)[Missing Credit]

Washington DC-based activist group DC for Palestine celebrated the kosher chain’s closure in a social media post last week, calling it a “small win” as Shouk was “one of the main targets” of their “Apartheid? I don’t buy it” consumer boycott initiative. Other “targets” include several Iocal Israeli-owned or inspired restaurants and companies that import Israeli goods.

Shouk is the latest victim of a wider boycott movement that leaves few international events and competitions untouched.

European broadcasters have been threatening to boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is not banned from the competition, and last month hundreds of Hollywood stars – including Emma Stone, Olivia Colman and Mark Ruffalo – backed a boycott of Israel’s state-funded film industry over the government’s actions in Gaza.

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The website of pro-Palestine campaign group Washington Socialist revelled in the group’s forensic approach to boycotting Israel-linked food and eateries. It said: “Across the city, lunch locales are directly or indirectly tied to Israeli apartheid in historic Palestine. Fan favourite shops and restaurants may stock Israeli products and brands or even sell libations produced on settlements and annexed territories from bordering states. Some have clear and intuitive associations with Israel, most do not. An innocent to-go bowl can turn into a breach in solidarity; a ‘little treat’ can amount to financial support for apartheid.”

The closure of the last two locations of the Washington-based chain Shouk, which forced owners Friedman and Nussbacher to lay off their remaining 30 staff members, occurred just days before Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire that would end the violence in Gaza.

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Topics:

BDS

Boycotts