Khaberni - The Israeli restaurant chain "Shouk" in the United States revealed in a statement last week, the reason for closing its doors there, pointing out that the decision was a result of a longstanding boycott in support of Palestine, and an increasing rejection by American consumers to purchase from it due to the Gaza genocide. In the same context, "Yedioth Ahronoth" reported that the Shouk chain, which was serving "Jewish kosher" vegetarian food in Washington, had closed all its branches after a continuous campaign by activists supporting Palestine. The owners clarified that they faced ongoing harassments and a widespread boycott from consumers, affirming that they were unable to continue operating.
The newspaper mentioned that the campaign against the restaurants escalated significantly after the outbreak of the war on Gaza, as groups like DC for Palestine and Washington Socialist led an intense boycott campaign, causing a sharp decline in revenue and customer withdrawals to avoid association with a company linked to Israel. The chain, which was co-owned by an American Jew and an Israeli, offered Middle Eastern vegetarian dishes such as falafel, hummus, and lentils. Since the start of the war on Gaza, pro-Palestine groups have urged Americans to boycott it, accusing its owners of appropriating Palestinian cuisine and cooperating with the Israeli apartheid regime due to their importation of Israeli products and trademarks.
The chain's owners, Dennis Friedman and Ran Nussbacher, in an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian as part of a report on the impact of boycotts on institutions linked to Israel, said that the continuous harassments and financial losses made it impossible to continue operating their branches. Friedman added: "There was no possibility to continue the operation after the restaurants became a political place and were classified as supporters of the Gaza genocide."
According to "Haaretz," this incident represents part of a broader trend in the American scene to boycott cultural and economic activities linked to Israel, including calls to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 unless the Israeli entity is excluded from it, in addition to pressures on film production companies that receive funding from Israeli entities. The newspaper added that what happened in Washington of closing the Israeli restaurants reflects the erosion of Israel's image among the American public opinion, and the transformation of the boycott from a symbolic activity to a concrete economic and cultural phenomenon that baffles Israeli business owners.
A group of activists for Palestine in Washington celebrated the closure of the Israeli restaurant chain through a social media post, stating: "A victory for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement in Washington," and describing the event as "a local victory for the boycott movement." This closure, which forced Friedman and Nussbacher to lay off their remaining thirty employees, came just days before Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire.
