I spent the Christmas of 2023, with my son in New York indulging in all my favourite things with him and this meant visits to book stores, eateries, malls, bakeries and occasionally the local bars. Despite the sinister cold and wind chills that decided to show up on days that I had planned to visit these places I dressed like a knight and wandered about trying to make sense of the many shades of a city tagged as the “food Mecca of the world”. After days of feasting on kebabs, bruschetta, flavorsome Thai and Japanese food in New York desi roots came calling. This phase saw us ordering homemade Indian tiffin. From Idli - Dosa to Alu Gobi to Chicken Makhani ingenious Indians had opened restaurants that spawned all over New Jersey, the “mini-India as they call it there. How can a meal be complete without a little dessert? But my son, a compulsive weight watcher disapproved and thereafter begrudgingly took me to Max Brenner, a Jewish eatery renowned for its chocolate fondue and barbecued marshmallows. Soon thereafter the guilty mind began to play havoc and we started our long walks together. This was the part I loved most but my blog isn’t about all this. On a serious note, it’s about Palestinians and Jews in New York who are caught in the crossfire of a war that seems to have no end.

Every once in a while along the streets of a very cosmopolitan New York I caught a glimpse of Israeli restaurants and chefs experiencing boycott calls, walls painted with anti-Israel graffiti, frequent sit in protests, agitating people marching by the hundreds grouping and re grouping calling attention to the sordid plight of bombed Palestinians in Gaza where a genuine truce and ceasefire eludes them to date. On another day there was a sit in protest of more than a 100 people around Manhattan’s Columbus circle with Arab scarves around their neck, waving brightly colored Palestine flags, banners and loudspeakers blaring ,” stop the war” and “ free, free Palestine” Everything was just the way I had seen on TV before I landed in NY. But I never saw news camera crews report any of what I learnt while I was there.

As it turned out a Popular Israeli bakery chain Lehamim was attacked by activists venting their ire on its Zionist owners. It seems there was a map of the city of NY circulating online spotlighting all ‘Zionist restaurants marking them as places of boycott and there were 57 of them which were vulnerable to attack anytime. The map was eventually removed after objection by people presumably patrons or Jews themselves calling for protection. But soon another map surfaced giving away places like synagogues and residences of Jewish officials. After an intervention by NYPD, (New York police department), it was reported that this map too was removed. While undercurrents of boycott and angst against Jewish places, people and young students was growing, ironically, few highly recommended Jewish eateries were lucky to be spared. Whether they were mapped or not, I had no means to find out. And they were Shuka and Shukette the two places to be in town dishing out some delectable food. They were doing robust business. In Hebrew, ‘shuk means ‘open air market’. Turns out that these are two highly rated and recommended Jewish restaurants in downtown Manhattan’s elite Soho neighborhood serving delightful Eastern Mediterranean cuisines. If you are a food lover like me, you would eventually find yourself in a long line waiting patiently to be ushered in. Funny that I should say this that there are no Jewish chefs here. The restaurant's main chef is a Brooklyn native, Ayesha Nur Djaja, of Italian -Indonesian heritage who loves Mediterranean cuisine. Food lines here at lunchtime and weekends can go on and on till shadows lengthen.

Not too long ago, in 2020, Abdul Elenani, and Ayat Masoud a Palestinian couple, opened a restaurant called Ayat in Brooklyn, NY and the concept was to serve authentic Palestinian food with love. Over time business grew and the restaurant became a favourite among immigrants, locals and tourists who swore by its simplicity and flavor. But Ayat faced some really bad days and the owners even worse.

The eatery was trolled for trying to unite people of the troubled region in the middle east. Ironically, Jews were their biggest patrons and their most loyal customers, and they continued to support and celebrate unity with the Palestinian brothers in a big way. The owners were striving to keep this union going despite all odds against the backdrop of a grim war in Gaza and threats of persecution. Luck ran out. Abdul Elenani, started to get death threats and hate mail after two major tabloids of New York accused him of being anti semitic. The story goes like this. When Elenani conceived the Ayat restaurant’s menu a few years back, he innocuously put the ‘fish & seafood’ cuisine under a heading, “From the River to The Sea”. He thought it was a brilliant idea, but he never foresaw that these words on the menu may one day trigger a backlash from people calling him an anti Semite since the conflict began on 7th October ,2023. The Daily Mail news carried a headline, “Newly opened New York City Palestinian restaurant sparks fury with ‘anti-Semitic’ seafood menu titled ‘from the river to the sea,”. The New York Post stoked this further by referring to Ayat’s menu as “openly genocidal”. Soon Elenani was receiving warnings of bomb attacks and a flood of hate messages on his Instagram page. Among those shocked and horrified by this harassment were his loyal Jewish patrons who put out messages shoring up sympathy and support for Ayat and its owners who they had grown to love. They continued to reinforce Ayat sticking by Elenani’s side and on his part he was so overwhelmed by this affection that he decided to reciprocate in a unique way.

He held a special Shabbat dinner, which would be free, for anybody in the neighborhood who wished to visit Ayat. The restaurant posted invites on their Facebook and Instagram pages saying, “In the spirit of togetherness and understanding, we invite all our incredible neighbours, especially our Jewish neighbours, to a heartfelt Shabbat dinner at Ayat Restaurant’. The invite further said, “It’s not just breaking bread, it’s about breaking barriers, fostering dialogue, and connecting on a human level. This evening is more than a meal, it’s an opportunity to share stories, embrace diverse perspectives, and celebrate our shared humanity”. Elenani told a reporter of Eater , a food news and dining guide that,” people come and show their support”. The restaurant continues to serve its patrons and has four other branches including the one in Brooklyn.

Meanwhile, more than a 1000 people signed a petition on behalf of Palestinian Chefs on America’s food and hospitality industry expressing solidarity with the Palestinians in the ensuing Israel- Palestinian conflict. It was published by an organization called ‘Hospitality for Humanity’, that urged America’s food and hospitality community to use its influence to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, end US funding of Israel and boycott products and events linked to Israel.

Differences within the internal environment of a country like Israel have serious ramifications in the United States. But caught in this raging crossfire in Gaza are people many of whom have little to do with war. And 'hope' is all they must look forward to.

Writer, Rajiv Chavan, is a Senior Advocate.