ALBAWABA - Palestinian chef Muhammad Sbaita, commonly known as Abu Julia, was accused of mocking the situation in Gaza during his last food recipe in which he created Gaza's weirdest Falafel sandwich.
Pro-Palestinian activists lashed out at Abu Julia, the well-known chef, after he shared his last video on Facebook, in which he was teaching people how to make Gaza's weirdest Falafel sandwich.
Abu Julia is familiar in the Middle East for making exceptional food recipes, however, his last one was widely criticized after he imitated a sandwich from Gaza, amid the suffering Gazans face due to the shortage of food and water, which caused the death of at least 22 people, 20 of which are children.
Israel since the start of the latest war on Gaza, on Oct. 7, imposed a further strict siege on the strip permitting a small amount of aid truck into the city. According to the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA at least 576,000 people are "facing catastrophic levels of deprivation and starvation" across the enclave.
Not only Gaza's weirdest Falafel sandwich, but Abu Julia has also been remaking many food recipes that are familiar in the Gaza Strip.
Following his latest videos, many activists called to unfollow the Palestinian chef, who is followed by millions of people on Meta, as many accused him of mocking the famine in Gaza.
On the other hand, many others announced supporting Abu Julia saying he is only trying to keep Gaza's food recipes alive to curb erase the Palestinian identity and culture taking into consideration that Israel has been heisting Palestinian cuisines; such as Hummus.
Abu Julia responds to criticism:
In a Facebook comment, the Palestinian chef clarified sharing cooking videos and especially from the Gaza kitchen.
Taking into consideration that Abu Julia's family lives in Gaza and under Israeli bombs, he wrote: "I know that it is difficult to see cooking content at this time, but please don't blame me."
He maintained: "I have to for two reasons: The first is trying to improve income so that I can help my family in Gaza. Second: The followers (who are a large part of you) stopped attending war and news content. But through cooking videos, I deliver a message. Watch the video and keep Gaza in mind, and if you really want to help and be better than me, post about the "Cook for Gaza" campaign. Thank you for your understanding."
