For more than a decade Shouk offered an Israeli-inspired, plant-based and kosher menu in and around Washington. Last week the chain was forced to close the last of five locations and lay off the last of 30 staff. It said the war in Gaza had made it impossible to do business; activists claimed the restaurant appropriated Palestinian food and imported Israeli products.
“It didn’t let up: boycotts, harassment, you name it,” recalled Dennis Friedman, 46, a Jewish American who co-founded Shouk with Ran Nussbacher, who is Israeli. “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.”
