Jewish community rallies in support of BK Israeli-owned juice bar after it was targeted by pro-Palestinian activists
Jews for juice.
The Jewish community has flooded a Brooklyn juice bar with orders after pro-Palestinian activists began boycotting the establishment over a co-owner’s social media posts supporting Israel.
Tamar Juice Bar in Bedford-Stuyvesant was flooded with hate after co-owner Reut Levi shared an Instagram post slamming singer Bjork for sharing misinformation about the Middle East conflict.
The next day, a nearby coffee shop’s employee saw Levi’s post and blasted the juice bar owner for “promoting racism and [supporting] genocide,” while encouraging her followers to boycott.
“In a matter of minutes, all my Instagram was Palestine flags,” Levi, who in June opened the storefront with her fellow Israeli, Michal Mualem, told The Post.
Within hours, the virtual pushback came to the shop’s front door, as people arrived to record videos and urge passersby to stay away — prompting Levi to lock herself inside and call the police.
She quickly stripped her store walls of any decor showcasing the Israeli backgrounds of her and Mualem.
“The first two days, I was scared,” Levi said, explaining people were continuing to tag the Bat Yam native in Instagram posts and urging their followers to avoid the “white Zionist-owned business.”
Recently, she discovered her eatery had been added to a Google Map titled “Zionist Restaurant – NYC.”
“I tried to bring something good, I gave so much effort to people and then in one day, they just erase you,” she said.
The juice bar’s usual clientele all but disappeared amid the clamor, but Jews quickly turned out to keep the business going.
Rabbi Yossi Eliav, director of Chabad of Clinton Hill and Pratt University, swung through to purchase 10 orange juices for officers at the 79th Precinct and recorded his own social media video to spread the word about aiding Levi amid the boycott.
Orders soon rushed from as far as Texas and California for juices and smoothies, tripling daily. Levi delivered the items to the local precinct, a nearby school, and a homeless shelter.
“Look what antisemites got us to do — we’ve never spent so much on fresh squeezed juice,” Eliav joked, adding that the support the Jewish community is “an unbelievable sign of people showing up, for being proud of who they are and saying we’re not going to hide in the shadows.”
On a recent afternoon, a half-dozen Jewish customers crowded the shoebox-size storefront, having traveled from as far as Long Island and Queens to buy date-flavored smoothies and acai bowls.
Out of the blue, the group broke out into an impromptu hora, chanting the Hebrew solidarity anthem “Am Yisrael Chai,” or “the people of Israel live.”
“If I have friends who feel alone, I want them to know you’ve got a brother right here,” said Bentzy Weingot, 34, who drove in from Rockaway Beach. “What I’m learning from this is not to underestimate the power of community.”
