The owner of New York City’s only Ethiopian-Israeli restaurant claimed she was forced to close because of a wave of harassment over the Gaza war — prompting calls for state and city authorities to launch a civil right probe into antisemitism.
Ethiopia native Beejhy Barhany, who opened Tsion Cafe in Harlem in 2014, said vitriol and hate directed at the eatery intensified after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.
“I answered the phone once at the restaurant and the caller said, ‘You dirty Jew. We should erase you from the map,’” Barhany told The Post Thursday.
“I am demoralized and heartbroken that there are so many bigots out there,” she said. “It’s mind blowing. We can’t handle the burden anymore,” she said.
Barhany, who immigrated to Israel before moving to New York, said the hate directed at her was especially heart-wrenching since she aims to use her culinary skills as a bridge to bring people together.
“Everything kind of changed — so much animosity,” Barhany previously told Jewish Week of the aftermath of the Hamas attack.
The situation worsened when she dropped meat from the menu in February 2024, to go fully vegan and kosher, she said.
“I was proud to be Jewish. I wanted to illuminate that,” Barhany told Jewish Week, in a story published Tuesday.
“But from the moment we pivoted to be kosher, it became worse and worse.”
The restaurant received harassing phone calls and one day a “bunch of Gen-Z’s passing through said, “Don’t ever come to this place. It’s owned by Israelis. By Zionists,” Barhany recalled.
“It’s kind of tiring. You’re here to nourish the community and it feels like you are perceived like the enemy,” she told the Jewish outlet.
Hearing that the restaurant had closed for regular dining, the Jewish Community Relations Council filed formal complaints with the offices of state Attorney General Letitia James and Mayor Zohran Mamdani to open civil rights probes.
“No small business owner should ever have to fear closing their doors because of their identity. What Beejhy Barhany, owner of Tsion Cafe in Harlem, has experienced is a stark reminder of the climate of antisemitism we are living in today,” JCRC CEO Mark Treyger said Thursday.
Some anti-Israel critics targeted Barhany and her restaurant for harassment simply because she is Israeli and Jewish, Treyger said.
“Harassing a Jewish small business owner because she is Israeli and Jewish — and attempting to hold her personally responsible for Israel’s actions — is antisemitism, plain and simple,” he said.
“No one should be intimidated into changing how they operate their business because of hate.”
City Comptroller Mark Levine, who said Tsion Cafe was one of his favorite restaurants, called out the harassment as “blatant bigotry.”
“Now they are closing their doors. Why? Because of a constant stream of animosity, that got even worse when they went kosher two years ago,” Levine, who is Jewish, said in a statement on X.
“This is blatant bigotry. I am deeply disturbed by this and you should be too.”
Still, Barhany said she can’t — and won’t — hide who she is.
“I’m a proud black, Ethiopian Jew,” she told The Post.
Barhany is the founder of the Beta Israel of North America Cultural Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to celebrating the legacy of Ethiopian Jews.
Other Jewish eateries, including Breads Bakery on the Upper West Side, have also been targeted by pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel critics.
The offices of AG James and Mayor Mamdani had no immediate comment.
