A restaurant with ties to individuals who fled the Nazis during World War II was targeted in a pro-Palestine rally in Canada over the weekend.
Videos posted to social media this week show members of the group Toronto4Palestine demonstrating outside of Cafe Landwer, shouting and waving Palestinian flags at diners through the front window.
Cafe Landwer, founded by Moshe Landwer, originated in Germany in 1919. The Landwer family was forced to flee Berlin in 1933 due to “the rise to power of the Nazi regime,” its website says. The family settled in Tel Aviv, where they opened a coffee house.
The brand was revived in 2004 by new founders Federman & Sons, with the first cafe opening in Tel Aviv. Cafe Landwer now has 80 locations across Israel and is one of the top coffee brewers in the country. The chain expanded to Canada in 2017 with six locations, including Toronto, and is also in the United States.
Toronto – October 21 – Additional footage as protestors affiliated with “Toronto4Palestine” swarm outside of Cafe Landwer and demand to boycott the “Zionist Cafe”. Protestors have posted pictures targeting staff working at the cafe 1/2 #Antisemitism pic.twitter.com/9iCWSgSekQ
— Documenting Antisemitism (@AntisemitismCA) October 22, 2023
The DocumentingAntisemitism account on X, formerly Twitter, posted a video from the demonstration captioned: “Toronto – October 21 – Additional footage as protestors affiliated with ‘Toronto4Palestine’ swarm outside of Cafe Landwer and demand to boycott the ‘Zionist Cafe.’ Protestors have posted pictures targeting staff working at the cafe.”
In the video, protesters can be heard yelling “boycott” while outside the cafe.
Newsweek reached out to the Cafe Landwer via email for comment.
On October 7, Hamas militants led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history, with Israel subsequently launching its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza. Fighting between Hamas and Israel has continued in the days since, with the Israel Defense Forces launching dozens of airstrikes on parts of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country is “at war” and has cut off supplies of food, fuel, electricity and medicine into Gaza. The Associated Press reported that a land attack in Gaza by the IDF is expected in the coming days.
As of Monday, over 1,400 have been killed in Israel, according to the AP. Over 4,600 people have been killed in Gaza, the AP reported, citing the Gaza Health Ministry.
Kevin Vuong, a member of the Canadian Parliament in Toronto, responded to the protest on X while praising the restaurant.
“Cafe Landwer has some of the best shakshouka in the city. Not only must we condemn these disgusting acts of #antisemitism & hate let’s also show support for Jewish businesses!” Vuong posted on Sunday. “Join me to show [love] at @CafeLandwer – personally, I recommend the Sinia Shakshuka with focaccia!” Vuong added.
Konstantinos Tsakalidis / SOOC/AFP/Getty Images
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.