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Jewish NYC restaurants win new fans — and lose others — through Israel fundraisers
(New York Jewish Week) — New York City-based restaurateurs Yuval Dekel and Ari Bokovza, friends since high school, have deep roots in Israel and a shared love of Jewish cuisine. Dekel owns Liebman’s, the last kosher deli in the Bronx, and Bokovza is the executive chef of Dagon on New York’s Upper West Side, a restaurant that features food from the Levant.
Like Jews around the world, the two friends were devastated when they learned of the deadly attacks by Hamas on southern Israel on Oct. 7. The pair quickly devised a plan to do what they do best: prepare delicious food and bring people together, this time in support of Israel.
On Wednesday, the two restaurants are joining forces to raise money for Yatar, an organization that provides tactical off-road equipment to help aid Israel’s border patrol. The four-course dinner, held at Dagon at Broadway and 91st street, composed of Ashkenazi and Sephardi foods from both establishments, is priced at $250 per person, all of which goes directly to Yatar.
“The reaction has been very positive,” Bokovza told the New York Jewish Week. “Every day the [number of] reservations are growing.”
Dekel and Bokovza are far from the only ones who are raising money and offering support for Israel at this fraught time. Thousands of other New Yorkers are contributing to an aid effort that is widely considered unparalleled in recent times; as of last Friday, UJA-Federation of New York had raised $105 million for an Israel Emergency Fund.
New York’s plethora of Jewish restaurants and famous foodies are getting in on the action, too. Immediately in the aftermath of the attack, Jewish celebrity chefs including Einat Admony and Jake Cohen joined forces with members of the Jewish Food Society at Chelsea Market on Oct. 11 for a “community hug and bake sale” that raised $27,000 for ASIF, an Israeli organization preparing meals for displaced families and hospital workers in Israel.
As the war between Hamas and Israel intensifies, numerous other restaurants across the city — from old-school classics like 2nd Avenue Deli to catering outfits to high-end dining destinations — are also raising funds to help Israel and its citizens. Among them is Mediterranean restaurant Barbounia, where Chef Amitzur Mor will host three sold-out seatings for a special menu and fundraiser to benefit Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces on Monday night. Other eateries, like Michael Solomonov’s Kfar and Laser Wolf, along with the kosher steakhouse Reserve Cut, are giving a percentage of their restaurants’ proceeds to support of a variety of Israeli humanitarian organizations.
“We are happy to stand with Israel and heartwarmed by the number of people joining us,” 2nd Avenue Deli co-owner Josh Lebewohl told the New York Jewish Week.
Since Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the iconic deli’s Instagram feed has turned decidedly pro-Israel. On Oct. 13 — the day a former Hamas leader had called for global protests — the restaurant donated their proceeds to United Hatzalah, Israel’s volunteer emergency medical service. “They love jihad. We love chicken soup,” the deli posted on Instagram.
“We were touched by the outpouring of support we received,” Lebewohl said, declining to share how much money was raised.
The week following the fundraiser, the deli’s Upper East Side location was defaced with antisemitic graffiti — but the owners remain determined to show their support for Israel. “We definitely lost some followers but overall we have gained [some],” Lebewohl told the New York Jewish Week about the deli’s social media following. ”Just the number of messages of people writing in support of us, in regard to the hate crime and, more importantly, in regards to standing with Israel, has been amazing.”
Dagon’s Bokovza, too, said his restaurant has received some social media backlash. “That stuff can only make you stronger, more determined, more motivated,” he said. “Everybody has big balls behind the keyboard.”
Over at Chef Eyal Shani’s Manhattan restaurants — which includes Miznon, Shmoné, Port Sa’id and HaSalon — the management has been looking for ways to support their U.S.-based employees, some of whom have loved ones who were murdered in the attack. In addition to donating food to a memorial dinner for a former employee, and hosting a lunch for staff to grieve together, Shani’s high-end Hell’s Kitchen eatery HaSalon will host a fundraising dinner on Wednesday priced at $450 per person.
The proceeds will go to humanitarian relief in Israel, including donations to American Friends of Rambam Hospital, Soroka Medical Center and Sheba Medical Center. This is in addition donating 10% of all sales at the Miznon locations in New York, as well as the 20,000 meals Shani’s restaurants in Israel have provided thus far to people in hospitals or to those who have been removed from their homes.
Their strong support of Israel comes with a price. “We have gotten negative reviews online from people who have never dined with us,” said Mika Ziv, CEO of Good People Group, Shani’s global hospitality brand. “People are calling our restaurant and screaming ‘Free Palestine!’ and hanging up. It is obviously not going to stop us from doing what is right but that is the situation.”
Rotem Itzhaky, general manager of the 12 Chairs Cafes in the West Village and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is not looking at negative posts online. “I am focusing on the positive and what we can do and how we can help,” she said.
On Tuesday, 12 Chairs will hold a dinner benefiting United Hatzalah at their Williamsburg location priced at $150 per person, hosted by influencers Batsheva Haart, Audrey Jongens and Meg Radice. As of Sunday, the restaurant has sold all of their 65 tickets to the event, which promises their signature Israeli food as well as an “open bar to help raise spirits and donations.”
Meanwhile, since the conflict began, the owners of kosher caterer Good Shabbos by ChiChi Eats have given their customers the option, when placing a food order, to make a donation to support feeding Israeli soldiers and supplying them with critical gear like warm jackets, knee pads and tactical equipment. Approximately 75% of their customers have made a donation, according to co-owner Rachel Fuchs.
“People were super excited last week and this week,” Fuchs said. “People are looking for a way to help. If we lost Instagram followers, we wouldn’t have noticed and I think we will be better without those people.”
Gadi Peleg, the owner of Breads, the New York City bakery chain with roots in Israel, was pleasantly surprised by the reaction to the plan that he and baker Ben Siman Tov, aka BenGingi on TikTok, devised following the Oct. 7 attack. BenGingi had contacted Peleg and suggested that on Friday, Oct. 13, Breads should sell heart-shaped challahs. The challahs — shaped by BenGingi and using Breads’ signature recipe — would sell for $36 and proceeds would go to support Magen David Adom, Israel’s national organization responsible for emergency pre-hospital medical care and blood services.
Intended to be a one-day event, the heart-shaped challahs were so popular the bakery has made and sold them every day since, raising more than $20,000 so far, according to Peleg. “We make hundreds of challahs a day,” he said. “Our bakeries open at 7 a.m. We are sold out by 8 a.m. Breads is a community — people come into the stores, and they are excited to see what we are doing and there are other people who feel like them.
“What happened in Israel was an act of pure evil,” he added. “What we are doing is an act of pure good.”
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The post Jewish NYC restaurants win new fans — and lose others — through Israel fundraisers appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Anti-Israel Activism Takes Center Stage at Emmy Awards After Paramount Condemns Boycott of Israeli Film Companies
Javier Bardem at the 2025 Emmy Awards. Photo: REUTERS/Daniel Cole
Several members of Hollywood promoted their pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activism on Sunday night at the 77th Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Actor Javier Bardem – who stars in “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” – wore a Palestinian keffiyeh around his neck to the ceremony and talked on the Emmys red carpet about his decision not to work with Israeli institutions and companies.
The Emmy nominee told The Hollywood Reporter that he “will never work with some company now [who] are not condemning the genocide in Gaza.” If his decision impacts the number of jobs he gets, he said, “Me not getting jobs is absolutely [ir]relevant compared to what is going on there.”
The “F1” actor also told Variety on the Emmys red carpet: “I cannot work with someone that justifies or supports the genocide. I can’t. It’s as simple as that. And we shouldn’t, in this industry and in any other industry. What we are witnessing is a genocide on a daily basis.”
Also on Sunday, in Bardem’s home country of Spain, a major cycling race was shut down after thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators clashed with police while protesting an Israeli team’s participation in the race. Bardem mentioned the shutdown while speaking on the Emmys red carpet and said Israel’s inclusion in the race is an example of “whitewashing” the “genocide” Israel is supposedly perpetrating in Gaza.
“We ask for a commercial and diplomatic blockade, and sanctions on Israel to stop this genocide. Free Palestine,” Bardem said.
Earlier this month, thousands of members of the Hollywood film industry signed a pledge by Film Workers for Palestine to boycott any Israeli film institutions and companies that are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.” More than 1,300 filmmakers, actors, and other creatives signed the pledge.
The film production giant Paramount criticized the boycott in a released statement on Sept. 12.
“At Paramount, we believe in the power of storytelling to connect and inspire people, promote mutual understanding, and preserve the moments, ideas, and events that shape the world we share. This is our creative mission,” read a statement issued by Paramount chief communications officer Melissa Zukerman.
“We do not agree with recent efforts to boycott Israeli filmmakers,” the statement continued. “Silencing individual creative artists based on their nationality does not promote better understanding or advance the cause of peace. The global entertainment industry should be encouraging artists to tell their stories and share their ideas with audiences throughout the world. We need more engagement and communication — not less.”
Bardem responded to Paramount while speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the Emmys.
“It’s also important to clarify to Paramount that we do not target individuals by their identity. That’s absolutely wrong. Don’t send that message; that is a wrong thing,” he said. “What we target are those complicit film companies and institutions that are involved in whitewashing or justifying the genocide of Israel in Gaza and its apartheid regime. And we stand with those who fight and stand in solidarity with the oppressed.”
Jewish-American actress and “Hacks” star Hannah Einbinder was among those who signed the anti-Israel pledge by Film Workers for Palestine. On Sunday night, Einbinder won the Emmy for best actress in a comedy series and concluded her acceptance speech by cheering the Philadelphia Eagles, calling out immigration raids by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and declaring “Free Palestine.” Backstage in the press room after her first Emmy win, she told reporters that the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is “an issue that’s very close to my heart.”
“I have friends in Gaza who are working as frontline workers, as doctors, right now in the north of Gaza to provide care for pregnant women and for school children to create schools in refugee camps,” Einbinder said. “I feel like it is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the state of Israel because our religion and our culture is such an important and longstanding institution that is really separate to this ethnonationalist state.”
She also explained why she signed the Film Workers for Palestine pledge.
“It’s like many movements — boycotting is an effective tool to create pressure on the powers that be to meet the moment,” she said. “The Film Workers for Palestine boycott does not boycott individuals; it only boycotts institutions that are directly complicit in the genocide. So, it’s important to me and I think it’s an important measure and I was happy to be a part of it.”
Fellow “Hacks” star Megan Stalter walked the Emmys red carpet wearing a white T-shirt and jeans that she paired with a black handbag featuring a message that read, “Cease Fire!” which seemed to be a reference the war in Gaza. There were some members of the audience inside Peacock Theater who were also seen wearing the Artists4Ceasefire red pins that call for an end to Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip. “White Lotus” actress Aimee Lou Wood, “Hacks” director Lucia Aniello, “Abbott Elementary” actor Chris Perfetti, and “Presumed Innocent” actress Ruth Negga were among the celebrities who wear the pins on the red carpet on Sunday.
Film Workers for Palestine responded to Paramount’s criticism of its anti-Israel boycott by saying that it hopes the studio is not “intentionally misrepresenting the pledge in an attempt to silence our colleagues in the film industry.”
“Such a move would only shield a genocidal regime from criticism at a time when global outrage is exponentially growing and while meaningful steps towards accountability are being taken by many,” Film Workers for Palestine wrote in a statement posted on social media. “Should Israeli film institutions wish to continue working with pledge signatories, their choice is clear: end complicity in Israel’s genocide and apartheid, and endorse the full rights of the Palestinian people under international law, in line with Palestinian civil society guidelines.”
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‘Incredibly Validating’: Documentary About Oct. 7 Rescue Wins People’s Choice Award at Toronto Film Festival
Canadian director Barry Avrich on the red carpet at a screening of “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Sept. 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Anna Mehler Paperny
A film about a former Israeli general’s mission to rescue his family during the Hamas terrorist attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, won the People’s Choice award for best documentary at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
Director Barry Avrich’s documentary “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” took home the honor after a whirlwind journey of being dropped from the film festival and then reinvited. The Canadian documentary highlights retired Israeli Gen. Noam Tibon and his heroic efforts to rescue his son’s family from Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, when they invaded kibbutz Nahal Oz near Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip.
“To win this award is thrilling for Mark and me. The audience voted and I appreciate that. We look forward to the rest of this journey [and] I appreciate everything that TIFF has done for us,” Avrich said while accepting the documentary award trophy at the Lightbox theater. The award was presented by TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey. The film’s producer, Mark Selby, said in his acceptance speech, “I hope that all the filmmakers of this festival feel as supported as Barry and I did during this whole process.”
“The Road Between Us” made its world premiere at TIFF on Sept. 10. TIFF originally invited the film to take part in this year’s festival but then removed the documentary from its lineup after claiming that filmmakers did not obtain clearance to use footage from the deadly attack that was taken by Hamas terrorists themselves. The film was ultimately invited to rejoin TIFF following outrage from pro-Israel supporters around the world and Cameron apologized twice for the festival’s decision to cancel the screening.
Avrich told The Canadian Press it feels “incredibly validating” to have the audience vote for his film to win the People’s Choice award for best documentary.
“We live in a country where it’s about freedom of expression. So, people want to protest. They can protest,” he told the publication. “We encourage people to see the film and if there’s something they want to protest about in reference to the film, fine. Or don’t buy a ticket. Either way, I’m fine with that … I’ve always said this is a film about family.”
“People can have an opinion but we encourage them to see the film first and then form their opinion based on what they’ve seen,” Selby added.
“The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” will be released in theaters across North America on Oct. 3. Watch the trailer below.
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Netanyahu Says Israel Should Invest in Influence Operations to Counteract Isolation
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the opening event of the largest-ever bipartisan delegation of American legislators to Israel at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: Debbie Hill/Pool via REUTERS
Israel needs to invest heavily in “influence operations” in traditional and social media to counteract economic isolation arising from negative publicity abroad, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.
Speaking at a Finance Ministry conference, Netanyahu said foreign investment into Israel had held up in the wake of a 12-day war against Iran in June, which he said removed an immediate threat of a nuclear-armed foe.
But in a rare acknowledgment of the isolation arising from international criticism of Israel‘s war in Gaza, he said Israel faced an economic threat of sanctions and other measures.
He blamed isolation on minorities in Europe pushing “anti-Zionist and extreme Islamist ideology,” and on countries such as Qatar, backer of Arabic broadcaster Al Jazeera, investing in shaping global discourse through social media.
“This leads to sanctions against Israel and alters Israel‘s international standing … and this leads to a kind of isolation for Israel,” Netanyahu said. “We can break out of this isolation, but we must invest heavily in countermeasures — particularly in media and social media influence operations.”
Netanyahu said Israel should reduce the dependence of its industries on trade with other countries.
“We might find ourselves blocked not only in R&D but also in actual industrial production. We must start developing our capabilities to rely more on ourselves,” he said, adding that should also include arms and other defense products.
In a response, opposition leader Yair Lapid said international isolation was “the product of a wrong and failed policy by Netanyahu and his government.”
“They are turning Israel into a third world country and are not even trying to change the situation,” he wrote on X. “Israel can return to being successful, popular, with a thriving first-world economy.”
The war in Gaza was triggered by a rampage into southern Israel by Hamas terrorists who killed around 1,200 people and captured 251 hostages.