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Jewish Food NYC really began with a story that upset me.I read about Tsion Cafe in Harlem, New York City’s only Ethiopian Israeli restaurant, and its owner, Beejhy Barhany. Barhany has spoken openly about what happened to her business after October 7.Tsion had already experienced antisemitic vandalism, including swastika graffiti. Barhany said the hostility intensified after she proudly made Tsion fully vegan and kosher in 2024. People called the restaurant to harass whoever answered the phone. She recalled people walking past the restaurant telling others not to go inside because it was owned by Israelis and Zionists. Eventually, Barhany said the hostility took such a toll that she ended regular walk in dining and transformed Tsion into an event venue focused on culturally immersive experiences.

 

That story stayed with me. Here was a woman trying to share Ethiopian Jewish food, history and culture in New York City, and this was happening to her.

 

It made me think: What can I do?

 

Then something happened practically in my own backyard.

 

At Caffè Aronne on Lexington Avenue on the Upper East Side, employees quit amid disagreements over owner Aaron Dahan’s public support for Israel. The café had displayed an Israeli flag and was raising money for Magen David Adom. After the latest employees left, Dahan planned to close the café for the day because there were not enough people to run it.His mother said no.She went behind the counter and learned how to use the register, pour cold brew and operate the espresso machines. Friends and family came in. Strangers volunteered. Experienced baristas showed up. Dahan said people from other businesses and even baristas from previous competitors came over to help. New Yorkers donated baked goods, cups and their time.And then the neighborhood showed up.Hundreds of customers came. The line spilled around the block. One volunteer barista later said he served approximately 500 to 600 customers that day. The surge continued for days.

 

That is the New York City I love.

 

More recently, Breads Bakery, the beloved Israeli founded bakery known for its chocolate babka, found itself at the center of another dispute. Employees seeking to unionize included among their demands that the company end what they described as its support for Israel. Their statement specifically objected to baking Israeli flag cookies and participating in The Great Nosh, a New York Jewish food festival, which they described as a “Zionist project.”And once again, New Yorkers responded by showing up. Hundreds of people lined up outside Breads’ locations to buy babka, rugelach and other baked goods in a public show of support for the bakery.

 

These are certainly not the only Jewish or Israeli restaurants, cafés and food businesses in New York that have experienced hostility, vandalism, boycotts or other backlash. They are simply three stories that particularly stayed with me. Two happened right in or around my own neighborhood. Together, they helped inspire this project.

 

I wanted to create something that did more than document what happened. I wanted to create a place that could help people do something today. And it can be incredibly simple.

 

If I am walking past Caffè Aronne, I stop for a latte and a hamantaschen. If I am near Breads, I stop in and pick up a few things for myself or Babkas to give as gifts.

 

Buy the coffee. Pick up the babka. Order dinner. Book the experience. Buy the cookbook. Follow the business on Instagram. Share their story. Leave a thoughtful review. Bring a friend. Give something delicious as a gift. Show up.

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You do not need to make a grand gesture to support the people and places that make New York what it is.

 

It's so easy to make a difference.

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xx