Palestinian-American influencer Zkrah Daoud was forced to close her coffee shop in Ramallah after she was allegedly “scammed” by two Palestinians, including a PA official, she said in a series of videos posted to TikTok last week.
Daoud opened Art Café Ramallah in June, but is now considering returning to the US. She claimed that two Palestinians “scammed” her out of more than $100,000, leading to her arrest. On her GoFundMe page, Daoud claimed that she is the victim of an “extortion ring,” and that she is suing to recover her lost assets.
She said that she originally wanted to “provide a safe space for people to express themselves through art,” with her cafe.
In November, less than five months after opening, Daoud posted a video on social media in which she described having “a lot of problems” with the café. In the same video, Daoud expressed her intent to move to another location within the same building.
Palestinian-American woman's cafe shuttered in Ramallah
However, in January, Daoud posted a now-deleted video informing her followers that she would permanently close. In the video, she explained that she signed two notarized contracts that proved invalid and that she was “scammed big time.”
According to Daoud, she paid rent to a third party, who was then supposed to pay the owner. Daoud alleges that the third party, a member of the PA-controlled Palestinian National Security Forces, never passed on the payment and called the police on her twice.
Daoud described how she “tried relocating in the same building,” but was arrested before she could complete the move. She said that she was accused of stealing eight chairs and a fridge, though she claims she purchased the expensive equipment.
In the video, she shared images of the unfurnished café and claimed that the Palestinian police tried to confiscate “everything” because of her unpaid rent.
A GoFundMe under Daoud’s name claims that she’s fighting a “high-stakes legal battle against a coordinated network, including a military officer, corrupt legal professionals, and complicit police officers.”
Created on January 19, the GoFundMe maintains that she was affected by “multiple coordinated lawsuits designed to silence [her],” and “facing credible threats to [her] safety.”
It is still unclear what the future holds for Daoud, though she has shared that she is considering moving back to the US.
“I don’t even know what I’m doing with my life anymore,” she said. “I lost everything. Everything. And I don’t have the money to do it again.”