Go Ad Free

Comedy, much like beauty, often comes down to the eye of the beholder. A gag that is laugh out funny to some can be met with stunned silence by others. Or, in some cases, the joke might generate outrage as opposed to laughter.

Case in point: there’s a video making the rounds on TikTok that is causing quite the stir. It originates from a Shawarma Royale restaurant. And while some think it is a knee-slapper, others think it crosses a line.

Essentially, a manager berates his employee for slapping a customer’s face. The employee defends the attack by telling the manager the reason for the face-slapping. Namely, that the customer believes Israel invented the shawarma. Upon hearing this, the manager himself resumes face-slapping the customer (which is presumably the punchline.)

So, the question arises: is this video promoting antisemitism? Or are some viewers being overly sensitive?

Well, to seek insight, we reached out to Shawarma Royale headquarters in Mississauga, Ont., with three questions:

1. The theme in the video suggests violence is appropriate if someone merely mentions the word “Israel”. Is this not akin to advocating for violence against Israelis and/or Jews and their allies?

2. What was the strategy behind producing and distributing such a video?

3. What sort of feedback have you received from this video?

And we’re happy to report that we actually received a detailed response from the company’s founder and CEO, Mohammed Roumia.

“We can confirm that the video circulating online was created by one of our stores as part of a current TikTok comedy trend involving exaggerated, clearly staged ‘fake slaps.’ It was intended strictly as humour related to the ongoing online debate about which culture first created shawarma.

“To address your questions:

“1. The video does not advocate violence of any kind.
The ‘slap’ is a common TikTok comedy trend and was fully staged. It was not meant literally. The joke was about the debate over the origin of shawarma — not about politics, religion, or any group of people. We have absolutely zero tolerance for hate, discrimination, or violence in any form.

“2. There was no political strategy or message.
The store intended light-hearted content around food culture, similar to our previous comedic videos where different communities claim shawarma as their own. None of our content is meant to comment on geopolitical issues.

“3. Feedback has been mixed, as expected with viral social media trends.
“Some viewers understood it as the joke it was. Others interpreted it differently, which was never the intention. We take community feedback seriously and are reviewing our content guidelines to ensure future posts remain clearly within harmless humour.

“Shawarma Royale serves Canadians of every background, including Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and others. We respect all communities and do not endorse any form of hatred or bias. Our focus is food, hospitality, and creating a welcoming environment for everyone.”

Now, full disclosure: we happen to be huge fans of slapstick humour. Indeed, we don’t think there’s a greater comedy team than The Three Stooges. So naturally fake slapping isn’t problematic to us.

On the other hand, timing is everything when it comes to comedy. So maybe it was the fact that an Israeli was the target of the attack that makes some enraged given the outrageous antisemitism on the streets that we’ve witnessed these past two years.

But in the final analysis, we’re not quite sure what to think about the Shawarma Royale sketch. Are some people seeing antisemitism where it does not exist? Or was this merely a harmless slapstick comedy routine that was misinterpreted?

Please let us know what you think in the Comments section.