Israeli and American flags waved outside Bagels & Co., a kosher eatery in Queens, N.Y., on Thursday afternoon, as hundreds of community members packed both the sidewalk and dining hall of the bagel shop, which had been attacked days earlier in what the community calls an antisemitic attack.
Many of those who assembled were teens from nearby Orthodox high schools, who descended on Bagels & Co. to buy their lunch there.
A man wearing Muslim garb attacked the kosher bagel shop, in the Fresh Meadows neighborhood of Queens, over the recent Shavuot holiday. The man kicked over planters outside the store and cracked one of the store windows.
Daniel Rosen, who founded the nonprofit Impact after Oct. 7, organized the “foodies united” rally with Young Israel of Jamaica Estates, Young Israel Holliswood, Chazaq, Great Kosher Restaurant Foodies, Yeshiva University High School for Girls and Emet Outreach.
“This Islamist tried to hurt this business, and our response as a community is to help this business,” Rosen told JNS.
“We want to send a message. This shall not stand,” he said. “You cannot come into our neighborhood, do terrible things and then expect us not to have an organized response.”
Hila Ashkenazi, owner of the eatery, told JNS that it was not the first incident.
“The attacker actually came another time right before Shabbat and messed up some chairs outside,” she said. “I fixed it and thought nothing of it.”
“I think he’s purposely coming on Shabbat,” she told JNS.
Still, Ashkenazi refuses to be intimidated.
“I’m not scared. I’m never scared,” she said. “I was in the Israeli army, teaching self-defense. They should be scared of me.”
Askenazi, who began working at Bagels & Co. in 2001 and became the owner six years ago, described it as more than just a business.
“This is home for everyone,” she told JNS. “This is family for the neighborhood.”
Throughout the afternoon, supporters walked in and out of the packed bagel shop, many stopping to hug the owner or pose for pictures with the Israeli flags.
Rabbi Dov Lerner, of Young Israel of Jamaica Estates, said that the gathering showed the strength of the local community.
“I’m filled with pride to be connected to people in the community, all coming together for a local business,” he told JNS. “We feel like we’re supporting each other.”
Many attendees said that they came simply to stand against Jew-hatred and support a neighborhood staple.
“We are here in unity to help our brothers, who were attacked by antisemites,” a participant told JNS. “We’re here to stand together and help this business.”
Aaron Herman, CEO of Impact, said that the rally was intended to turn fear into action.
“Foodies Unite is more than just an event. It is a line in the sand,” Herman told JNS. “It is about organizing, empowering and mobilizing our communities to support one another and push back against antisemitism wherever it appears.”
As music played outside and customers continued filing into the crowded shop, organizers said that the message of the afternoon was simple: that the community would not be intimidated.
“When we stand united,” Herman told JNS, “hate loses.”
Antisemitic hate crimes spiked 182% in New York City in January, in Zohran Mamdani’s first month as mayor of the city, according to New York City Police Department data. In April, Jews were the targets of about 60% of hate crimes in the city, according to the NYPD.
