Connect with us

RSS

She lost a friend in Hamas’ attack. Then neighbors called for a boycott of her ‘ugly zio’ juice bar

When Brooklyn juice bar owner Reut Levi woke up in Israel on Oct. 7, the morning after a friend’s wedding near the Sea of Galilee, she saw she had missed 35 calls from her parents and over 100 push notifications from news outlets about Hamas’ attacks in the south. She soon learned that the terrorists had killed another friend of hers at the Nova music festival. Levi spent the next two weeks in her native Israel, grieving and worrying for her family’s safety.

The turmoil followed her home to Bedford-Stuyvesant, the Brooklyn neighborhood where she lives and opened Tamar Juice Bar in June.

Levi, 37,  moved to what locals call Bed-Stuy 15 years ago, she said, because it seemed a safe, tolerant place for a lesbian like her, a person who feels most comfortable in multicultural places. In the few months since the juice bar opened, it had become somewhat of a neighborhood landmark, especially for young, queer Brooklynites.

But Levi learned after Oct. 7 that she has some neighbors who want to see her business fail, and that they said and wrote that it’s because she’s Israeli and Jewish.

“I didn’t expect this and I don’t feel safe anymore,” Levi said. “But I have no choice but to go on with what I’ve always done here.” 

She also learned that she has friends she had never met before, mostly Jews and Israelis, who want her business to thrive in Bed-Stuy.

Her experience mirrors that of other business owners targeted since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war because they are Israel, pro-Israel or Jewish, and comes at a time of spiking antisemitism in the U.S. and and globally. Vandals defaced the facade of Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles, for example. And a Greek diner on Long Island withstood a boycott after its owner flew the Israeli flag outside the restaurant and plastered its windows with posters of those kidnapped by Hamas. Business tanked until droves of customers angered by the boycott began eating there. Levi’s juice shop has also enjoyed such support, but she still wonders whether it can survive war in the Middle East.

‘They ain’t welcome here’

Levi knew Tamar Juice Bar might be vulnerable in the aftermath of Hamas’ attack, as Israel began retaliating in Gaza. Both she and her business partner Michal Mualem are Israeli, Tamar is one of the most popular names in Israel and their menu has a strong Middle Eastern flavor. Levi decided to post only on her personal Instagram account — not the juice bar’s. Most of her posts memorialized the victims of Oct. 7. She did not call for retribution.

“My political view is that I really wish that the people of Gaza will have the most beautiful life as soon as possible,” Levi told me as she lit a cigarette. “They can have it. They must have it.”

Reut Levi serving customers in Tamar Juice Bar in Brooklyn on Nov. 8, 2023. Photo by Camillo Barone

But last Saturday, one of Levi’s customers on Instagram accused her of supporting genocide and called for a boycott of the juice bar. “The same way we are asked to boycott big corporations participating in the oppression of black/brown, let’s keep the same energy with those promoting racism and support of genocide right under our noses,” the customer wrote, tagging the the juice bar’s profile so her followers would know which business to boycott.

Levi decided not to respond so as not to stoke the vitriol. But then other Instagram influencers in Bed-Stuy began posting photos of the juice bar and screenshots of its Instagram profile, with some seemingly inviting neighbors to harass Levi. “Don’t go to this trash ass place yall. Matter of fact feel free to let them know how much they ain’t welcome here,” wrote one.

They posts kept coming: “Bed-Stuy Neighbors Beware: Tamar Juice bar is a Zionist establishment;” “Liberation from apartheid, from colonizers, from occupiers in Bed-Stuy;” “There are ugly zio businesses in our very own neighborhoods who steal & appropriate Pali food & culture.”

The next day the action moved from online to the real world. A woman showed up outside the juice bar, Levi said, and began taking videos of her and calling her a “racist Zionist who supports genocide.” Reut locked herself in the bar and called the police, who told the woman to get away from the premises. A few hours later seven other women entered the bar without ordering anything. Levi said one of them asked her: “Are you the Israeli Jewish person here?” They laughed at her, frightened her “like never before,” Levi said. Shortly after they left she found stickers outside the juice bar calling for “Global Intifada.”

“I lived in Israel. I know what an Intifada is, and I can assure you it’s not a good thing,” Levi told me.

A future in Bed-Stuy?

Levi got the idea for her business when she first moved to the U.S. and began working at a mall in upstate New York managing two kiosks which sold smoothies and ice cream. One day, she decided, she would also sell smoothies, but infused with the flavors of Israel. Tamar Juice Bar — tamar means “date” in Hebrew — offers a date-flavored smoothie. Another is called “Chic or Shuk,” a reference to Middle Eastern markets. Spiced honey cake is also on the menu. 

The juice bar seemed a good fit for the neighborhood, but after Saturday’s incident, Levi feared her five-month-old business was about to die.

Then, on Monday afternoon, customers began showing up by the dozens, not to heckle, but to order smoothies, encouraged in private Facebook groups by Israeli and Jewish New Yorkers who had heard that she was being doxxed. A rabbi from Brooklyn ordered ten juices for ten police officers, and made them aware of the harassment Levi faced.

As she and I spoke outside the juice bar earlier this week, an Israeli man installed security cameras inside and outside the business. “I had bought them months ago but always felt safe here, so I didn’t install them,” Levi told me. “Today, however, I’m afraid, and this Israeli guy offered to install them for me for free to make me feel safer.”

Levi, who has removed every symbol of Israel and Judaism she ever had in her shop, worries about its future.

“I didn’t want to bring politics here. Jews and Israelis from all over New York have been coming in this week, but what will happen when they leave? Will my old customers from the neighborhood come back?”

The post She lost a friend in Hamas’ attack. Then neighbors called for a boycott of her ‘ugly zio’ juice bar appeared first on The Forward.

​ Read More 

Continue Reading

RSS

Syrian Christian Leader Chides President Over Deadly Church Bombing

People attend the funeral of victims of a suicide bombing at the Mar Elias Church on Sunday, in Damascus, Syria, June 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

Syria’s top Christian leader said on Tuesday at the funeral for victims of a deadly church bombing that President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government bore responsibility for not protecting minorities and his condolences were insufficient.

At least 25 worshippers died on Sunday when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Mar Elias Church in Damascus, the first such attack since Sharaa’s Islamist-led government seized power in December after the Assad family dynasty’s toppling.

The attack, which the government blamed on the Islamic State terrorist group, reinforced doubts among minorities about whether they can rely on government assurances of protection.

“With love and with all due respect Mr. President, you spoke yesterday by phone … to express your condolences. That is not enough for us,” the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, John (X) Yazigi, said at the funeral, drawing applause.

“We are grateful for the phone call. But the crime that took place is a little bigger than that.”

Christians made up around 10 percent of Syria’s pre-war population of 22 million, but their numbers shrunk significantly during the 14-year conflict, mainly through emigration. Only a few hundred thousand are now estimated to be living in Syria.

Yazigi said the government must prioritize protection for all. “What is important to me – and I will say it – is that the government bears responsibility in full,” Yazigi said of the church attack.

Hundreds were at the service in the nearby Church of the Holy Cross to bury nine of the victims, whose bodies were placed in simple white coffins adorned with white flowers.

Social affairs minister Hind Kabawat – the only Christian and only woman in Syria’s new government – attended.

On Monday, Sharaa said the attack was a crime hurting all Syrians but did not use the word “Christians” or “church.”

The government said security forces raided hideouts used by Islamic State, killing two of its members including one who facilitated the suicide bomber’s entry into Mar Elias Church.

IS did not issue a statement of responsibility.

The post Syrian Christian Leader Chides President Over Deadly Church Bombing first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

Montana Tucker Honors Israeli Courage, Resilience in New Dance Video Filmed on Masada

Montana Tucker at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024. Photo: Dan MacMedan / USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect

Jewish-American activist, dancer, and social media influencer Montana Tucker released on Monday a dance video filmed at Masada that honors the bravery and resilience of Jewish people throughout history and Israelis amid the Israel-Iran war.

The video, produced by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), was filmed during Tucker’s solidarity trip to Israel in May, which was her sixth visit to the Jewish state since the deadly Hamas terrorist attack more than a year and a half ago on Oct. 7, 2023. Tucker shared the dance video on social media.

“From the Romans and Persians, to the Nazis, Hamas, Hezbollah, and now the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Jewish people have faced countless enemies. And yet, we endure. We rise,” she wrote in the caption. “Today, I dance at Masada — a symbol of Jewish courage and defiance. I dedicate this moment to the heroes of Israel: the pilots defending the skies, the soldiers guarding the borders, and the millions standing strong in bomb shelters. Am Yisrael Chai. We WILL rise again.”

Masada was a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert in southeastern Israel. It became a final holdout of Jewish rebels standing against the Roman Empire following the destruction of Jerusalem

Tucker and a group of dancers from the Lilach Friedman Dance Center in Israel danced on Masada to a track that included lyrics of “Rise Again” by EV!

“Break down my walls/but I will rise again. Cuz I stand tall/ in my environment,” the artist sings. “How could I ever close my eyes/ and stay silent since/they tried to take me down/with their violence.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Montana Tucker (@montanatucker)

Tucker and CAM have collaborated on a number of projects since the Oct. 7 attacks, including the video “We Can Dance Again,” filmed at the site of the Nova music festival massacre in memory of the 364 music lovers murdered at the event, “I’m a Survivor,” drawing awareness to hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas, “Woman, Life, Freedom,” about Iranian women resisting oppression, and “The Music Never Stopped,” which marked Israel’s 77th Independence Day.

During her most recent trip to Israel, Tucker met with former Hamas hostages Emily Damari and Romi Gonen, who each spent 471 days in captivity after being abducted on Oct. 7, 2023.

The post Montana Tucker Honors Israeli Courage, Resilience in New Dance Video Filmed on Masada first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

RSS

Yemen’s Houthis Likely to Be Persistent Problem for US, Senior Military Official Says

Houthi policemen ride on the back of a patrol pick-up truck during the funeral of Houthi terrorists killed by recent US-led strikes, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement will likely be a persistent problem for the US in the future, a senior US military official said on Tuesday, even after Washington and the Houthis reached an agreement last month that ended a US air campaign against the terrorist group.

“The Houthis are likely to be a persistent problem … that we’ll be dealing with in the future a few times again,” Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich, director for operations of the Joint Staff, told lawmakers. Grynkewich has been nominated to lead the US military‘s European Command.

Last month, President Donald Trump announced the US would stop bombing the Houthis, who had been firing at US warships and commercial vessels off Yemen’s coast. The group, which had said it was acting in solidarity with Palestinians during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, stopped firing at US ships under the agreement.

Rights groups had voiced concerns about civilian casualties during the nearly two-month-old US bombing campaign in Yemen.

Last week, the Houthis said they would again target US ships in the Red Sea if Washington became involved in Israeli attacks on Iran. Still, they have not resumed attacks after the US struck three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.

On Monday, Trump announced an Israel-Iran ceasefire deal.

The post Yemen’s Houthis Likely to Be Persistent Problem for US, Senior Military Official Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Continue Reading

Copyright © 2017 - 2023 Jewish Post & News