You can’t go inside King of Falafel and Shawarma on Broadway in Astoria without first stepping on the face of Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel.
Floor stickers with headshots of highly criticized world leaders who some have accused of crimes against humanity greet customers at the front door, and then again at the register, where orders for award winning falafel are placed.
Lining the walls of the Palestinian owned restaurant are photos taken by the owner, Fares Zeideia, of his homeland. The photos span the many trips he has taken to Ramallah in the West Bank since he moved to New York over 40 years ago. For Zeideia, serving a plate of shawarma without a side of politics is not an option, and it’s been a regular part of the establishment since he opened right after 9/11.
“I actually get more support from customers now,” said Zeideia, who recently added more Palestinian flags and signs outside the establishment. “The more people say, ‘why are you involved in politics’ the more I want to involve politics.”
While some would advise small business owners from staying out of politics for the sake of not alienating customers on the other side, some restaurant owners across Queens are taking a political stance since the longstanding Israel-Palestine conflict escalated in October.
And as war remains in the hands of a select group of politicians, regular people witnessing the violence online say it has left them feeling helpless. But that hasn’t stopped them from aligning their spending with their politics. Whether it’s boycotting Starbucks for its alleged ties to Israel, or buying hummus from their local mom and pop eatery, they’re expressing their solidarity.
Zeideia says that the majority of his customers are Americans, and the demographics of his customers haven’t changed much in the past few months. However, he has noticed an uptick in visits from the younger generation recently.
He says that they’re the ones who…
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