Greek Diner in NY Boycotted Over Support for Israel, Now Backed by the Jewish Community

A Greek diner on Long Island, NY was initially boycotted for showing overt support for Israel, but the local Jewish community came to the rescue.

Israeli flags and posters of hostages kidnapped by Hamas sparked outrage and a boycott of the Golden Globe Diner in Huntington, where several staff quit over the show of support and business fell flat, the New York Post reports.

Peter Tsadilas, the Greek owner of the Golden Globe Diner in Huntington, said he began displaying Israeli flags and posters as a way to support efforts to return the hostages taken in the Israel-Hamas war.

But many locals have felt differently, according to Tsadilas, who told The Post three staff members quit, several patrons who came in daily haven’t returned, and local DoorDash drivers boycotted the restaurant.

“We’re having kickback from the locals now. We get random phone calls from people telling us that it’s depressing and we should pull it all down, that they don’t want to see this s–t every day,” Tsadilas said speaking to The Post.

A group of local drivers for DoorDash also allegedly confronted Tsadilas, telling him he was promoting hate.

“The drivers from DoorDash came over and basically said they’re not picking up our orders with these flags outside,” he said, adding that his business soon stopped receiving any type of orders from DoorDash — and that he could no longer find his restaurant on the app.

Tsadilas said his business reappeared on the app after he threatened to take legal action.

A week later, Tsadilas noticed things starting to take a turn after a customer, who said she was Kosher, came in because she saw the posters and began telling her friends to come to support the business.

Jewish community shows support for the Greek diner’s stance on Israel

“After that, she sent an email and it went viral,” he said. “They’ve shown us tremendous support.”

Posts shared online of the small, coffee shop have spurred patrons to trek out to eat at the mom-and-pop shop from as far as Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware — and business has been booming ever since.

Tasadilas admitted there were moments at first when he second-guessed the eye-catching arrangement.

Now, however, he plans to hang up even more posters of hostages alongside a homemade sign reading “Greek Diners Stand With Israel.”

“I’m not Jewish, but my father-in-law is Jewish. My partner is Jewish. My best friend is Jewish,” he told The Post.

“You know, it’s the humane thing to do. And, we want to find these people and bring them back. It’s not my family, but if it were, I would want people to speak up about it.”

Related: Greek Restaurant in Melbourne Loses 90% of Profits After Supporting Israel