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New York City likes to take pride in how “inclusive” it is, particularly for immigrants, but when it comes to identifiable Israelis, too many of its inhabitants are ready to make an exception.
Every Israeli restaurant owner can tell you that much.
Several times a week for the last few months, a guy has walked by Gazala Halabi’s eatery on the Upper West Side and spit on the window.
One day, Gazala chased him down and asked him why.
“You know why,” he replied. “It’s because you’re Israeli.”
No matter that Gazala is Druze, not Jewish, and makes dishes that have been in her family for generations.
The “I” word was all he needed to know.
Almost every Israeli restaurant in the city has experienced harassment, and often they’re lucky if it’s just spitting.
They’ve endured broken windows, graffiti and even (failed) employee-led boycotts.
Imagine Chinese or even Iranian restaurants treated this way — even though China and Iran, unlike Israel, are truly despotic.
The constant menacing both off and online (I spoke to several owners who all say they’ve been “review bombed” on Google and Yelp) has given way to a new kind of Israeli restaurant: one that doesn’t mention its origin at all.
Billed sometimes as Mediterranean or Middle Eastern, these places offer “chopped salads” instead of evil Israeli ones, or “traditional breakfasts” instead of the oppressive spreads of cheeses Israelis typically start their morning with.
Most of these restaurants are packed with happy diners (Israeli food — no matter what you call it — is great) who enjoy their non-denominational falafel without worrying about upsetting their Instagram followers.
Going incognito is not an easy decision. But the chefs prefer to focus on their dishes rather than have to explain to yet another arrogant graduate of TikTok University that they have every right to prepare food from their country of origin.
Mindless activists have long tried to argue that Israeli food, much like the Jewish state itself, has no right to exist.
But they must be ignoring the rich history and tastes of the cuisine, rooted in local ingredients enjoyed over centuries and combined with a delicious fusion born from Jewish migration from countries like Iraq, Morocco and Yemen.
(Hey, if you didn’t want Jews to create Israeli versions, you shouldn’t have kicked them out to begin with).
At the end of the day, says one business owner who took the hard decision to remove Israel from the menu entirely after his restaurant was repeatedly vandalized, “I need to support my family,” and threatening phone calls from strangers were not part of the business plan.
Yet others doubled down.
The owner of Ella’s Café on the Upper East Side recalls organized campaigns to boycott his restaurant after Oct. 7.
He never thought for a minute of removing the Israeli flags or items from the menu, and today he reports that for every person who leaves, two more show up.
“The other day two Christian girls from Georgia came in specifically to support us, and we had a really nice conversation,” he said, adding, “It also may have been because our mimosas are so good.”
Alon Kazdan, the owner of Stripes Wine Bar near Union Square, told me he saw a 60% loss in sales in the days after Oct. 7, as well as people coming in and trying to rip down his Israeli flag.
“But then a few Jewish students from NYU came in, and they were crying on my shoulder. I decided that was worth any financial loss for me.”
Catering to the community instead of the bullies paid off, and today his establishment is back to business as usual — flag, Israeli salad and all.
Of course, his place will occasionally face some harassment from “purple-haired, ignorant people,” to use his words.
He finds that especially ironic since, as a young restauranter in Israel, he worked with many Muslims and Palestinians and never experienced any problems.
“This is a very opinionated generation, and they don’t do their research. But whoever wants to learn more is always welcome to stop by for coffee.”
As for Gazala, she is holding strong in the face of the threats, making grape leaves in her kitchen as she has done for the past 19 years.
“This is America, and I am free to be who I am. No one else will decide for me. I don’t give in to bullies.”
Immigrants building successful businesses from nothing is as American as apple pie. There should be no exceptions for Israelis.
Hopefully New Yorkers will continue to reward those who remain proud and unafraid — and not forget to order a round of falafel for the table.
Yael Bar tur is the co-host of Chosen People Problems podcast on Ark Media
X: @yaelbt