Max La Manna, chef turned activist, went viral for his hunger strike, in which he is calling on social media viewers and UK supermarkets to boycott Israeli produce – now he reflects on his journey
TikTok chef Max La Manna went viral after he stood in front of a Sainsbury’s on May 13 with a sign reading: ‘Day Two Of My Hunger Strike’, with demands to boycott Israeli produce and end Israel’s humanitarian blockade in Gaza. But after hunger striking for seven days, he had to break his fast.
In a video posted to Instagram, he said: “Feeding people is part of my job, so after witnessing desperate children and families in Gaza who were being forcibly starved by Israel, I had to do something. I didn’t do much planning or strategising, I didn’t call a doctor. I just called my Palestinian friend – he gave me the go ahead and I went for it.”
Max said that going hunger strike meant that Palestinians were constantly on his mind. He described his mood swings as “intense”, adding: “Eating no food for 166 hours started to take its toll. I had no energy, intense headaches and even engaging in conversation felt difficult.” He said he broke his hunger strike in the “only way that felt appropriate” which was with Palestinian hummus and his friend by his side.
READ MORE: Gaza famine sees 29 elderly and children starve to death in race against time
Max admitted: “In all honesty, I’m a little bit disappointed in myself. For me, deciding when not to eat is a choice.. This is not a choice for Palestinians in Gaza.” But he emphasised that his plans for activism aren’t over. “I need to get myself back to full health, and then I think I’m going to go again, but this time with a proper strategy in place.”
Speaking to The Mirror during his hunger strike, Max said: “As a human, but also as a chef, seeing food being used as a weapon is inhumane. No food or aid has entered Gaza in over 70 days. I’ve decided to stop eating to raise awareness about the forced famine happening in Palestine.”
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement is working to end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians. They have put together a list of companies and products to boycott which support Israel. Max continued: “I’m targeting all supermarkets that sell Israeli goods and products… This is in support of calls from the Palestinian led BDS campaign.”
He hoped his videos would inspire people to use their consumer power to boycott these items and demand supermarkets remove them from shelves. He also hoped that there are people working on the inside at these businesses to support this.
Max admitted that he was finding the hunger strike “difficult”. While protesting, he only consumed water, rehydration salts, black coffee and herbal tea. However, he said it was a constant reminder of the starvation that Palestinians are enduring “without a choice”.
For him, the fight isn’t over. On March 2, Israel stopped any form of aid, including food, water and medicine, from entering the region, as reported by Human Rights Watch. Israel announced that it will now allow a “basic amount of food” to enter Gaza to ensure that “no starvation crisis develops” on May 18. This comes after 10 weeks of blockade, as reported by the BBC. However, Max still plans on continuing his strike.
According to a report by the UN, Palestinians are still struggling to find food and water due to Israel’s continued blockade on all humanitarian and commercial access. On 22 May, the Palestinian Red Crescent told reporters that no Palestinians in Gaza had yet received aid deliveries that had crossed over the border, as reported by The Guardian. They added that sending so few trucks was an “invitation for killing” because of the risk of mobs.
Meanwhile, Israel’s previous policies have created a starvation risk for millions. On 12 May, the UN World Food Programme warned that 470,000 Gazans “are facing catastrophic hunger” because of Israel’s action to shut down aid. It’s also claimed that over 116,000 metric tons of food aid was being blocked.
While Max said he received some death threats, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. “I have appreciated seeing support from some prominent chefs and food creators and hope this continues,” he said. “I think more and more people are feeling empowered to speak up and take action.”
On May 19, Co-op board members voted to stop selling Israeli products on their shelves – a vote which could come into effect during the summer, as reported by The Telegraph. The advocacy group Palestine Solidarity UK said the decision showed Co-op members would not support Israel’s “apartheid economy”. Max has since posted on his social media celebrating the news, which he said is “a huge victory for the Palestinian-led BDS movement.”
The hunger striker has also called on politicians to act. In the end of his Instagram video, Max called on David Lammy, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, to “take action” by calling for an end to the blockade of humanitarian aid in Gaza. David has previously lobbied for Israel to restore humanitarian access to Gaza, according to the UK Parliament.
The Mirror has reached out to Sainsbury’s, Co-op, and David Lammy for comment.