Montreal Jewish chef left curious by prospective diners asking about her views on 'genocide in Palestine' - National Post
Arthurs Nosh Bar owner Raegan Steinberg at the restaurant in Montreal in June 2026. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal GazetteArticle content“Are we serving politics with a side of pancakes now?” fourth-generation Montrealer, chef and restaurateur, Raegan Steinberg, asked on her Instagram in mid-October.
It was Steinberg’s response to a question from a prospective diner, asking about her views on the “genocide in Palestine.”
“There’s a boycott list that’s been going around since October 7,” she explains in an interview with National Post. It points to Montreal businesses that have allegedly expressed support for Israel. And Steinberg is on it.
“I don’t think I can do anything about it. I think no matter what you do, people will assume a lot of things about you and your policies and your politics.”
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However, she points out, “I’ve been very adamant about not discussing politics. I definitely don’t want that to define us. I just thought it was interesting that we were receiving that line of questioning, and I was fairly certain that other fellow restaurateurs were not receiving the same line of questioning.”
As a Jewish restaurateur and chef, she says: “I don’t hide the fact that I’m Jewish, right? I don’t think I should have to. Absolutely not. No. But I also don’t think I need to discuss foreign policy in order to conduct business in Montreal, Quebec. … We all just want to make great food, feed our families, go home. You know, sleep well, wake up the next day, do it all again.”
Broadly speaking, she says she has a lot of respect for the younger generation spending their money at businesses that align with their values: “I respect that 100 per cent.” And if all restaurants are facing this kind of challenge, she says, “then it’s fair game … but I have a feeling that that’s not the case, and that was more or less, proven to me.”
