So, a restaurant in Berlin is closing down. It is called Kanaan. It is run by an Israeli guy and a Palestinian guy. If you listen to the news, you would think this was the most important building on the planet. They called it an ‘island of peace.’ People in the media love that kind of talk. It makes them feel like the world isn't a total dump. But let’s be real for a second. It was a place that sold food. You go in. You sit down. You eat a salad. You leave. You didn’t fix the world. You just had a snack. Now, this place is shutting its doors in March. And honestly? It’s about time we stopped pretending that lunch is a political tool.

The owners are Oz Ben David and Jalil Dabit. One is Jewish, one is Arab. They started this place a decade ago in a part of Berlin called Prenzlauer Berg. That’s the kind of neighborhood where people pay too much for coffee and talk about how much they care about the planet. It was the perfect spot for a ‘peace’ restaurant. It gave all the local people a way to feel like they were doing something brave without actually doing anything at all. You could buy a plate of hummus and feel like a hero. ‘Look at me,’ you could say to your friends. ‘I am eating with both sides. I am a bridge-builder.’ No, you’re not. You’re just a guy with chickpea stuck in his teeth.

After the October 7th attacks and the war in Gaza, this restaurant became a huge symbol. The world was falling apart, but these two guys were still making food together. The media went crazy for it. They needed a ‘good news’ story to distract everyone from the fact that people were dying by the thousands. Kanaan was the perfect distraction. It was a cute little story about unity. It was a nice lie we told ourselves so we could sleep better. But here is the thing about symbols: they don't pay the rent. They don't fix a broken world. They are just stickers we put on a trash can to make it look pretty.

Now the restaurant is closing, but the dream isn't dead. It’s just moving to the one place where reality goes to die: television. That’s right. The owners said their story will live on as a TV series. This is the most 2024 thing I have ever heard. We couldn't make peace work in a real kitchen, so we are going to make a fake version of it for a streaming service. We are going to hire actors to play the ‘peace-makers.’ We are going to have a script. We are going to have lighting and music to make us feel feelings. We are turning a failed attempt at human connection into ‘content.’

This is how we solve problems now. If you can’t fix a war, you make a show about it. If you can’t keep a restaurant open, you sell the rights to the story. It’s all a big game of make-believe. The war is still happening. People are still full of hate. The ‘island of peace’ turned out to be just another business that couldn't last. But we don't want to talk about that. We want to talk about the TV show. We want to watch a version of the world where everything works out in forty-two minutes plus commercials.

Why do we love these stories so much? Because we are lazy. Real peace is hard. It requires people to actually change. It requires people to give things up. It’s messy and it’s ugly and it usually fails. But a ‘peace’ restaurant is easy. You just show up and order the special. And a ‘peace’ TV show is even easier. You don't even have to leave your house. You just sit there in your underwear and watch people pretend to be nice to each other. It’s a giant pacifier for a world that won't stop crying.

Berlin is a city that loves to talk about history and healing. It’s full of monuments and plaques. Kanaan was just another monument, but this one served pita bread. Now that it’s closing, everyone is acting like a light has gone out. Please. It was a business. Businesses close every day. The fact that they were trying to be ‘symbolic’ doesn't make them special. It just makes them better at marketing. They sold a feeling of goodness to people who were desperate to feel good. And now they are selling that same feeling to a production company.

In the end, nothing changed. The Israeli guy and the Palestinian guy are still friends, which is fine. Good for them. But the rest of the world is still a disaster. The hummus didn't save anyone. The TV show won't save anyone either. It will just be another thing to scroll past while you’re looking for something to distract you from your boring life. The ‘island of peace’ is sinking, and all we got was a pitch for a sitcom. Welcome to the future. It’s fake, it’s loud, and it’s for sale.