NYC restaurants are standing up to anti-Israel bullies

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 Je...