(JEWISH GROUP) Cuisine in the crossfire -- how Israeli and kosher restaurants have become targets in the Israel-Hamas war
Shortly after the attacks of Oct. 7, Josh Nodel, the Israeli-born owner of Bagel Time Cafe in Miami Beach, hung Israeli and American flags on his storefront. He said the flags served as a daily reminder of the hostages in Gaza, whose continued captivity feels like “a stab in my heart.”
The cafe has been vandalized three times since.
The first incident was in October 2023, when security footage showed a man slashing the Israeli flag outside the cafe with a knife. Nodel taped the flag together and hung it back up. A month later, a woman tore down the American and Israeli flags, brought them to the middle of the street, and stomped on them. Then in December 2023, a man stole the American flag.
Nodel also owns the kosher Holy Grill & Deli in Miami, formerly known as Holy Bagels & Pizzeria. In June 2024, vandals spray painted the windows with messages reading “free Palestine” and “stop genocide.”
“We have been targeted — at both restaurants — because of our support to Israel,” Nodel said. “I’m not giving in.”
The kosher eatery Holy Bagels & Pizzeria in Miami after vandalism in June 2024. Courtesy of Josh Nodel
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