Pro-Palestinian writer’s coalition reignites boycott calls against Philly celebrity chef Michael Solomonov

A national coalition of pro-Palestinian writers is calling for a boycott of Philadelphia celebrity chef Michael Solomonov, reigniting the economic campaign against the Israeli-born restaurateur and cookbook author.

Writers Against the War on Gaza issued a statement Friday renewing critiques about Israeli appropriation of Palestinian cuisine. The group also attacked Solomonov over a fundraiser he and business partner Steve Cook held for an Israeli nonprofit after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. The campaign similarly cited an incident last fall in which two CookNSolo employees said they were fired for wearing Palestinian flag pins at falafel restaurant Goldie.

“While the [Israeli Defense Forces] strips Gaza of the conditions for life, Solomonov and his ilk expand their businesses,” the coalition wrote in a statement, claiming “Solomonov is explicit about his efforts to work on behalf of Israel.”

A representative for Solomonov did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, when they stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians in the territory since the attacks, according to health officials.

Since the war began, the chef has pushed back against claims about Israeli appropriation of Palestinian cuisine and dismissed prior boycott attempts as misdirected, while expressing solidarity with Palestinians.

“I think if you’re trying to find reason or verbiage to invalidate Israel, or the right to Jews to have a homeland, … you’ll literally use whatever you have, and an easy way to do that is to say that all the food is all stolen,” Solomonov said at a November 2023 event in New Jersey moderated by The Inquirer’s Michael Klein. He added that, “without a question or a doubt, part of Israeli food is Palestinian influenced.”

The coalition cast the Solomonov boycott against the humanitarian crisis in Gaza — with famine facing millions of Palestinians in the blockaded and war-torn coastal strip. Their blacklist of CookNSolo enterprises includes Zahav, Goldie, Laser Wolf, Dizengoff, K’Far, the upcoming Jaffa Bar, and the Federal Donuts and Chicken franchise, as well as cookbooks, the Whole Foods-distributed Zahav Foods, and restaurants in other cities including New York and Miami.

This is not the celebrity chef’s first run-in with critics over his ties to Israel.

A pro-Palestinian demonstration that stopped at Goldie in December drew international attention after protesters chanted “we charge you with genocide” outside the popular Center City falafel shop. Protesters said they targeted the restaurant over a CookNSolo fundraiser that raised $100,000 for the Friends of United Hatzalah, an Israeli nonprofit and volunteer EMS organization that also provided aide to Israeli Defense Forces soldiers. The protest drew allegations of antisemitism from Gov. Josh Shapiro up to the White House. Soon after, a rift among CookNSolo workers spilled into public view, ending with an apology letter from Solomonov and Cook over the tensions caused by their fundraiser.

A representative for Writers Against the War On Gaza declined to be quoted, citing fear of retaliation, but acknowledged that the boycott was announced to coincide with launch of the James Beard Award-winning chef’s latest cookbook, Zahav Home, which was published this month.

Solomonov has been on a promotional tour of the book, including an appearance on the Today show in May.

Formed after the outbreak of Israel-Hamas war, the writer’s coalition consists of “media, cultural, and academic workers” and has launched numerous campaigns against media and cultural institutions, as well as public figures. In November, 8,000 writers — including George R.R. Martin, Susan Sarandon, Nan Goldin, Ocean Vuong and Carmen Maria Machado — signed an open letter accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, a petition that led to the departure of two New York Times writers who publicly signed their names.

The coalition representative declined to say how many members are affiliated with the group and it was unclear whether any writers would publicly put their name behind the boycott.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.