Compared with the future Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the discussion about cybersecurity cooperation between Japanese and Israel, the shoe-filled chocolate dessert has been the most talked about in local media as well as online.

One day after the high-level meetings in Israel, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife, Akie Abe, were treated to a festive meal at the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, according to The Times of Israel.

After the meal, celebrity chef Segev Moshe, who often cook for the Netanyahus when they are entertaining visiting dignitaries, dished up a selection of delectable chocolate pralines, arranged inside a shiny leather shoe, reported publication.

"It is like giving a Jewish guest chocolate inside a vessel in the shape of a pig,” a senior Israel diplomat said.

A Japanese diplomat, not named by The Jerusalem Post, said:” There is no culture in the world in which you put shoes on the table. What was the distinguished chef thinking? If it was humor, we don’t think it is funny; we were offended on behalf of our prime minister.”

“We respect and appreciate the chef. He is very creative,” the Israeli prime minister then responded in an initial statement. “We have the utmost respect for the Japanese prime minister.”

“The dessert was served inside a sculpture by international artist Tom Dixon, whose works are displayed in major museums around the world and for the first time was displayed in Israel at a meal. This is a high-quality piece of artwork made of cast metal in the shape of a shoe; it is not a real shoe,” Segev’s publicist said in a statement, according to Yediot Aharonot, a national daily newspaper published in Israel.

The shoe went viral soon on social media after the chef posted a close-up photo of the shoe-filled dessert on his Instagram, writing, “Chocolate selection from the world by #SegevArt/A metal show by @tomdixonstudio”. 

“This is an insult to our prime minister. Can you understand humiliation that the whole Japanese feels? Well, it will be impossible,” commented Teruteru 2017 under Segev’s post.

“I have so many great friends from Israel in the US, but they won’t serve me like this for sure. This is just rude hospitality for any culture,” Toko_Y_C said.

“Again, this was in Israel, not Japan, not China. If we practice what we preached, we would have respected it,” Skinnybeered said.