An Israeli cafe on the Upper West Side was hit with pro-Palestinian graffiti that the restaurant’s manager discovered on Sunday morning, prompting community members to come out and support the eatery in big numbers.
The metal gate covering Effy’s Café at night was marred all over with red paint, while “form line here to support genocide” was spray-painted in black on the W. 96th St. sidewalk just outside the entrance. Another sidewalk message, painted green, read “Free Gaza.”
Employee Ben Zara said she noticed the vandalism right when an Uber dropped her off to start work early.
“I started seeing all the signs, the black and the green signs. Red blood-colored paints all over the plastic covers, dripping. I was terrified,” said Zara, 30, who has worked at the cafe for eight years.
She called owner Efi Alkobi to let him know, sharing photos and videos of the damage inflicted in the colors of the Palestinian flag.
“I thought let’s get rid first of everything, cleaned it up, because it’s Sunday. We have to keep the business going because as you can see, we’re just a small restaurant. So, my delivery guy just started cleaning it up,” said Zara.
The incident came as the city has seen nearly non-stop protests since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which sparked a devastating war in Gaza.
“It was just terrifying and it’s so wild. It’s wild what happened. It was my first time seeing that kind of vandalism attack,” said Zara. “Karma is a b—h, that’s what they say. I pray for them to heal their mind, their hearts that need healing.”
Others were moved to come and show their support, offering to help clean the graffiti.
“I asked them if they wanted coffees and stuff for their help but they just wanted to be a part of it,” said Zara.
Steve Smith, 73, showed up with a pair of rubber gloves, ready to clean the paint. The restaurant was packed with what Zara described as “double the usual crowd.”
“It’s very disheartening because the thinking behind it, what I saw written, the pictures they took say, ‘Free Gaza.’ Well, that’s a big issue that doesn’t get resolved by throwing paint on a place or writing words,” said Smith, who lives on the Upper West Side.
“It’s very demoralizing to think that anyone is under attack, even when they’re community-oriented,” Smith added. “My concern is that with an attack like this, some people don’t have the stamina or the finances to keep going. It makes you realize that it’s all the more reason why these places should be here and why we still have to support them by coming here buying.”
Nava Silton, 42, took off from work to visit the cafe with her husband and newborn twins as her way of showing support. She called the vandalism attack “despicable.”
“I think it is going to actually accomplish the opposite of what they think,” said Silton, who is Jewish. “We bond together. We unify when there is adversity. So, this is just going to offer another seed to encourage more unity. And more, you know, solidarity against this kind of treatment.
“Unfortunately, there were also similar things that happened in Riverside and Central Park. We are not going to stand for this kind of treatment, and we greatly support our kosher Jewish and non-Jewish establishments The more they push to make these unfortunate decisions, the more we’re gonna stick together and unify,” added Silton, a psychologist.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, whose district includes Effy’s, joined with multi-faith community leaders at the cafe to denounce the vandalism on Monday afternoon.
“Targeting a small business because of who it’s owned by — Israeli, Palestinian or any other group — is not only wrong, it’s self defeating. The recent attack on Effy’s Cafe is a cowardly act of anti-semitism that cannot, and will not, be tolerated in our community,” the longtime incumbent wrote earlier in the day on X.
Effy’s, which also has an Upper East Side location, is a kosher restaurant that serves Middle Eastern and Mediterranean fare and has been open for 15 years.
“We are just here as an Israeli Mediterranean restaurant, and they attacked us personally. We are just right here a small business” said Zara.
Anti-Jewish hate crime have skyrocketed in the city since the start of the Middle East conflict — more than doubling in October alone. So far this year, there have been 48 antisemitic attacks, compared to 30 during the same time frame last year, according to NYPD data.
Police said the Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the vandalism targeting Effy’s.
