Owner of Ethiopian-Israeli Restaurant in Harlem Details ‘Unbearable’ Harassment, Death Threats That Forced Closure

Ethiopian-Israeli chef and cookbook author Beejhy Barhany spoke with The Algemeiner about her recent decision to close her restaurant in New York because of consistent antisemitic harassment and even death threats that increased after she made the establishment kosher.

“The harassment has been going on for years,” said the owner of Tsion Cafe in Harlem. “It’s outside agitators, white supremacists, racist, antisemitism. I’ve been targeted by that … it kind of became unbearable. It became a burden and unsafe … to the point where somebody called and said, ‘We’re going to come and shoot you all.'” She detailed experiencing constant harassment through phone calls and her restaurant even being vandalized with swastikas.

The harassment “got worse” when Tsion Cafe, which served Ethiopian Israeli cuisine, became fully kosher after the Hamas-led terrorist attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Barhany said.

“After Oct. 7, we wanted to embrace our Jewishness, our proud heritage, and become fully kosher and vegan. The intention was that we are Jewish and we are here to celebrate our Jewishness. And that kind of amplified [the harassment] even more,” she noted.

“The intentions were very good,” Barhany continued. “We wanted to bring the diverse flavors of the Africa diaspora and have a dialogue and understanding — but apparently people took it in a different reaction. In a wrong understanding. That’s what happened, to the point where we said for the sake of safety and our mental health, I said, I cannot deal with this on a daily basis … because of the affiliation of being Israeli Jewish, all of the sudden, you are portrayed in a different way.”

Barhany was born in Ethiopia in a Jewish community and in 1983 moved to Israel, where she lived in a kibbutz and served in the Israel Defense Forces. She moved to New York in the early 2000s and opened Tsion Cafe in 2014.

Barhany announced on Feb. 12 that she was closing the restaurant. In a post announcing the closure on Instagram, she wrote: “To those who feel distant from us or disagree … we invite you to keep an open heart, to learn, and – if you’re willing – to engage in respectful conversation. Our hope is simple: that curiosity can replace assumptions, that learning can soften walls, and that, one day, we might even break bread together and build bridges.”

The decision to close Tsion Cafe was not easy, Barhany said. “We are invested in Harlem. Harlem is home,” she added. “We are part of the community. When we first opened, the community embraced us with warm welcoming, and we celebrated Ethiopian Jewish culture.”

Barhany contacted the New York City Police Department (NYPD) several times about the harassment targeting Tsion Cafe, but authorities did not provide much help, she told The Algemeiner. The restaurant owner said she was not looking to blame authorities for the continued harassment she faced but urged police to pay more attention to such complaints by business owners.

“Take it seriously – complaints like this,” she said. “Hopefully next time, a small business can complain about any harassment and people will take it seriously. As an immigrant, we are here to contribute, we provide and support the economy so they shouldn’t look at it and not pay attention, only [give attention] to big names. We all contribute to this society in our small way.”

Barhany said she hopes in the future to still serve Ethiopian Jewish cuisine through immersive cultural events and catering opportunities.

“What we need to do is really build bridges and highlight and amplify the different Jewish communities and celebrate our diversity,” she explained. “The Jewish world is a lot more delicious and diverse, a mosaic that is worth celebrating. And we should empower and celebrate one another. And I tried to do it in my own small part, through food, which is a universal language to engage with people, but yet people weaponize it and politicize it for no reason.”

“We’re still here in a different form to serve the community and nourish the community,” she added. “Through food we can help spread love, understanding and respect. And I hope to do that one bite at a time.”

Barhany is the founder of the Beta Israel of North America Cultural Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the Ethiopian Jewish heritage.