L.A.’s food universe has cuisines from so many cultures to taste. This diversity helps restaurants, food trucks, taco stands, and other eateries survive, and sometimes thrive, in the city.
You can find food from almost every part of the world, from the Horn of Africa in Little Ethiopia to numerous Central American spots in the Pico-Union neighborhood, to regional Chinese cuisine and Korean gems peppered across the city, and, of course, Mexican food—to name just a few.
Restaurants are often seen as neutral spaces for people to share a meal with loved ones and catch up on life. Embedded in that experience is the politics that shape the dishes on the menu. Recently, international politics have become more visible and important to customers, especially for those considering Israeli-owned eateries, since the genocide that has seen over 73,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza, primarily by Israel’s military, the majority of them women, children, and non-combatants.
One of the clearest examples of how politics is ingrained in food comes from the Tel Aviv-inspired restaurant Miznon, which has two locations in Los Angeles and a third on the way: one in Downtown’s Grand Central Market, another on 3rd Street near the Grove, and a third in Culver City. Its menu features pita-wrapped sandwiches stuffed with ingredients like ribeye, chicken schnitzel, mushrooms, and cheeseburgers.
Miznon is one of 40 restaurants owned by The Good People Group, an Israeli hospitality company founded in 2008 by Shahar Segal and Eyal Shani, the celebrity chef and “Masterchef Israel” judge who created Miznon and its menus.
They also own HaSalon, which has locations in New York, Las Vegas, Miami, Australia, Austria, and France. Additionally, they own Shmoné, Port Sa’id, Malka, Teder.fm, and Beit Romano.
Segal and Shani’s political actions have sparked protests and raised broader questions about the ethics and responsibility people have in supporting a restaurant owned by people whose roles and actions in Gaza have been criticized by activists and protest groups.
The attention surrounding Segal comes from his involvement with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S.- and Israeli-backed initiative operating in Gaza.
Shani turned his restaurants in Israel into food distribution centers to feed members of the Israeli military (IDF) inside Gaza. The New York Post reported that he served the military "on the front lines of Gaza... the same day he won a Michelin Star."
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
Shahar Segal, co-owner of Miznon, was the first spokesperson for the now-closed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
On May 26, 2025, the GHF, supported by the U.S. and Israel, and responsible for aid distribution, announced the launch of its first secure distribution centers in Gaza. According to media reports, when Palestinians arrived at the safe zone, they were hit with live ammunition and gas canisters and killed while attempting to access food and aid.
Nearly 1,400 Palestinians were reportedly killed while trying to reach GHF sites, despite the sites being deemed “safe” for the people to receive life-saving aid. Human Rights Watch called the GHF locations “death traps.”
The news about Segal’s role with GHF sparked outrage in Israeli society, prompting charity groups to sever ties with Segal’s restaurants due to his affiliation with the group.
These include the Israeli social justice organization, Culture of Solidarity, which described the aid initiative as part of a system of “starvation, displacement, and dehumanization in Gaza,” arguing that it functioned as a “smokescreen” for broader policies in Gaza.
Segal, as the representative of the GHF, was criticized by rights groups for "ignoring repeated warnings from international humanitarian organizations that the foundation's distribution model could endanger civilians." At the time, he wrote on his Instagram:
"My work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has always been rooted in the desire to support those affected by the ongoing war. This volunteer role was always designed to be temporary and has now concluded."
Although Segal stepped down from the organization amid international backlash, his actions have left a lasting impression, not only on his reputation but also on his food businesses worldwide, including those in Los Angeles.
As a result, protests broke out at numerous Miznon locations, including Australia and London. United Nations experts urged the foundation to be dismantled, calling it a “political and moral failure.” Later, amid calls to boycott all Miznon locations, Shahar resigned as the foundation's spokesperson.
Before leaving the foundation, Segal publicly defended the program, stating "I believe this is the only right and possible way to deliver food to Gazans without feeding Hamas' terror machine. It's crystal clear."
With Miznon owner Segal acting as the GHF spokesperson at the time, its chef, Shani, supplied food to Israeli soldiers engaged in fighting deep within Gaza. It was reported at the time that two waitresses working for Shani were killed at the Nova Festival on October 7.
“We closed our restaurants [in Israel] and immediately converted [three of] them into food factories, producing 3,000 to 4,000 meals a day, driving them to army bases in the south of Israel,” Shani told Side Dish.
The celebrity chef took to Instagram to write, “It is the duty of every one of us to do everything in our power to annihilate these despicable murderers, not leaving a trace of their existence.”
Make Room for a New Luxury Hotel Near Gaza border
Near Gaza's northeast border, in Nir Am, approval has been given to construct a 55-room luxury boutique hotel. On the other side of that border, inside Gaza, is the town of Beit Hanoun, which has been under Israeli attacks for decades.
In 2017, Beit Hanoun had a population of 52,237 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Currently, the town is reported to be depopulated, following Israel’s destruction of Beit Hanoun. Al Jazeera’s investigative report includes satellite images that show how Israel leveled homes during the ceasefire.
Now, Beit Hanoun could turn into a location for new Israeli settlements.
“In 2024, Israeli ministers and parliament members visited a location in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, overlooking the Gaza Strip. They pointed at Beit Hanoon and Beit Lahiya, stating that more than 800 Jewish families were willing to move there ‘as soon as possible,’ according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz,” reported the Al Jazeera investigation.
In December 2025, Israel Katz, the Israeli Defense Minister, said at a conference that there would be new agricultural-military bases called “Nava Nahal,” combining farming with an Israeli military outpost staffed by armed personnel in Beit Hanoun, in an effort to consolidate control over a territory in northern Gaza.
During a podcast interview on “Being Jewish with Jonah Platt,” Shani mentioned that the purpose of opening a new restaurant on the Gaza border would be to showcase a “new” Israel for tourists, when asked about the new luxury hotel that will overlook a now depopulated section of Gaza.
In addition, Shani’s new luxury restaurant will be built next to what was once a vital agricultural hub for olive trees in the village of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. According to Visualizing Palestine, a data research organization that aims to change the narrative about Palestine, since 1967, Israeli settlers have destroyed over 800,000 to over one million Palestinian olive trees.
Israeli-American investors Adir Waldman, Jack Eisenstadt, and Simon Greenbaum Gross signed a memorandum to develop the new tourist destination.
Stolen Lands, Stolen Recipes, and the Quiet Machinery of Erasure
Miznon is also tied to today's geopolitics due to its founders’ actions. Israeli cuisine is often criticized for using and claiming Palestinian dishes as its own.
“Israeli cuisine comes from Palestinian, Middle Eastern, and North African traditions that existed long before the state of Israel,” Sumer Durkee says in an interview with L.A. TACO. Durkee is a Palestinian chef from Watts and co-founder of Mid East Eats. She has dedicated her life to preserving Palestinian food.
“It feels like erasure,” Sumer told L.A. TACO. “Our food is tied to our identity and history, and when it’s labeled 'Israeli' without acknowledging Palestinians, it rewrites that story.”
When asked how Shani got into cooking, the chef told the podcast host of "Being Jewish with Jonah Platt," “I just had a feeling that I had to invent the Israeli cuisine,” adding that there were no cookbooks in Israel.
Combining tahini, za’taar, and flatbreads like Miznon does is not an original invention introduced by anyone born in this last century, but dishes and ingredients with thousands of years of history in Palestine, North Africa, and the Middle East, sans the cheeseburgers and “candy steak.”
L.A. Takes a Closer Look at What’s On Its Plate
The question is no longer about what’s on the plate but what that food may represent. The intersection of food and politics can not be ignored when innocent lives are at stake.
In a city like Los Angeles, where tens of thousands of people have come out to support Palestinians since October 2023, it is important to know which restaurants or business owners have drawn criticism for their actions or affiliations related to Gaza.
Following Israel’s response to the attacks of October 7, 2023, residents of Los Angeles engaged in various protests to oppose the genocide, including marches, disruptions of political events, interruptions of politicians, hunger strikes, walkouts, and educational initiatives.
Sumer observed that the awareness of some local restaurant owners' involvement in the destruction of Gaza will leave a bitter taste in this city’s mouth.
L.A. TACO contacted Miznon and its representatives multiple times for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
