The Foodbenders restaurant in the Bloordale neighborhood of Toronto posts anti-Semitic tropes and pro-terrorist content on its social media pages and B’nai Brith Canada is calling on the Jewish community in Toronto to protest.
The restaurant posted on its Instagram page: “#zionistsnotwelcome” and “Zionists are Nazis” and praised Leila Khaled, a terrorist member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), who hijacked two planes in 1969-1970. The PFLP has been declared a terrorist entity in Canada.
Foodbenders also referred to a Canadian Jewish group by stating: “These people control your media and elected officials.” The owner of Foodbenders also wrote on her personal Facebook page that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is a “Zionist puppet.”
Ironically, Foodbenders deems itself as the: “Little store against racism and against police” on its Instagram page.
B’nai Brith Canada has called on members of the Toronto Jewish community to take action against the restaurant by requesting from Uber Eats and Doordash to halt delivery of Foodbender products until the restaurant renounces its behavior; contacting the City of Toronto to request an investigation of Foodbender’s business license; and emailing local City Councillor Ana Bailão, MPP Marit Stiles and MP Julie Dzerowiczt to speak out against Foodbenders.
B’nai Brith noted that according to Canadian law, specifically section 27 of By-law No. 574-2000, the use of a licensed business to “discriminate against any member of the public on grounds of race, color, or creed” is illegal.
“The sentiments expressed by Foodbenders and its owner are hateful and deplorable, and have no place in the Canadian food industry,” said Michael Mostyn, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada.
“Together, acting within the boundaries of the law, we can ensure that there are real consequences for this behavior.”
Kimberly Hawkins, owner of Foodbenders responded to the criticism by saying that Jewish people and Zionists are definitely welcome in her business.
“I’m not anti-Semitic,” she was quoted as saying by blogTO.com. “That would go against all the other principles that I’ve been standing up for the past few weeks. I believe that Palestinians should be free and have the same equal human rights as everyone and that’s not a stance I will apologize for.”
“When I’m making a statement about Zionism, I am not referring to Jewish people… It’s about the state government,” she stated.
Hawkin’s latest post on Instagram on Sunday night featured a photo of a large blue and white Magen David (presumably meant to be an image of an Israeli flag). The post stated: “Zionists like to appear bigger than they are. The Israeli flag is white for supremacy and blue for cop.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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12 Responses
Lets see if the Ontario Human Rights Commission goes after this restaurant for its discriminatory policies or if they only care when the “injustice” is done to people like Jessica Yaniv.
Be thankful that they show their true colours. Just imagine if a place like that would welcome Jews. I doubt they have anything other than a hechsher for tum’oh. Not worth wasting space on YWN!
I really hope some vagrant commits a crime against this store, forcing them to call the police and the responding officers are Jewish.
This restaurant is a blessing in disguise. Jews should not be welcome in non-kosher restaurants
Yes hechsher for tumah –
Huchsher al yedei dom.
To MoisheInGolus: How do anti-Semitic statements on a restaurant website help Jews? Jews should be welcome everywhere and learn the importance of kashrus. Anti-Semitism does not teach the holiness of kashrus.
I’m a lot happier when a treife restaurant openly discourages Jews from eating there, than when one deliberately attracts Jewish customers by calling itself “Heimishe Essen”, featuring traditional Ashkenazi Jewish cuisiine, and being located just off the corner of Bathurst and Lawrence, which is Jew Central. I entered that place once, looked for the hechsher and couldn’t find it, so I asked someone behind the counter and was told, “Oh, we’re not kosher”. I bet there were at least some customers who were ignorant enough to just assume that such a store must be kosher and never bothered to ask.
PS: The place burned down a few years ago.
PPS: At another place in the same area, which I had heard was kosher, I asked the lady behind the counter whether this was true, and she said something like “Yes, but it’s not for you”, or “Yes, but you shouldn’t eat here”.
PPPS: Then again, I once had that experience at a very frum grocery. I brought a product to the counter, and the owner asked me if I knew what hechsher it had, and when I showed him he told me in Yiddish, “This is not for you; go put it back and choose something else”. (The owner obviously knew what hechsher it had, and he chose to carry it for those who rely on that hechsher, but looking at me he thought I should not do so.)
These are liberal voters. Not US obviously but the same type of people are at the front of the Dem party like Ilhan Omar and Keith Ellison.
Huju, learning the importance of kashrus is nice, but far more important is simply that they do not eat treif. If a treife restaurant is openly hostile to them, and therefore they do not eat its food, that is itself a good thing, even if they don’t learn anything from it.