Jewish eaters again aid diner targeted for supporting Israel and hostages in Gaza

Jewish customers supported a Long Island diner last October after it was boycotted by local residents upset that the owner had put pictures of the Israeli hostages in his front window and began flying Israeli flags at its entrances. Now, after vandals smashed the diner’s front window and slashed five tabletops, they again have its back.

Suffolk County police said their hate crimes unit is handling the investigation of the incident.

Peter Tsadilas, owner of the Golden Globe diner in Huntington, New York, is not Jewish, but after Oct. 7 decided to use his business (which was previously called the Golden Dolphin and still bears a sign with that name) to express support for the hostages and Israel.

Peter Klein, 37, of nearby Plainview, New York,  said he learned through social media that the diner’s window had been shattered during the early morning hours of July 12. He set up a GoFundMe page to raise $7,500 to replace it. He asks would-be-donors to “Stand Behind Peter & the Golden Globe Diner.” Donations will also go toward enhancing security and other improvements, he said.

As of Monday, more than $13,500 has been raised through the page by 300 donors.

“It’s a shame,” Klein said of the harassment faced by Tsadilas, who has also been subjected to hecklers who shout at the diner that he is supporting genocide in Gaza.

Debbie Kaplan of Northport, Long Island, said she has been to the diner four times since Oct. 7 and contributed to the GoFundMe page when she learned of the broken window. “I thought it was disgusting,” she said. “He is simply expressing his free speech and is being vandalized for it,” she said during a meal there on Sunday.

Norman Zipkin, 71, and his wife, Helene, said they drove 45-minutes from their home in Fresh Meadows, Queens, in New York City, to have lunch at the dinner after learning about the smashed window. They said they too had contributed to the GoFundMe page.

“Hate has no limit,” Norman Zipkin said. “Anybody who is a friend of Israel needs our support, especially when they have been hurt by people who don’t understand.”

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