A Long Island restaurant owner who expressed support for Israel was boycotted by customers, employees and drivers of a delivery company he worked with. Peter Tesdiales, owner of a restaurant called Golden Globe Diner, hung posters of Israeli abductees and Israeli flags on the outside walls of the business. Later he added a sign that read: "Greek diners stand with Israel."
"Three of my employees left, customers left, and DoorDash drivers boycotted us," Tesdiales told the New York Post. He added: "We are experiencing hostile treatment from the locals... We get phone calls from people telling us it's depressing and we'll take down the posters because they don't want to see it every day."
Long Island diner boycotted over Israeli flags, hostage posters before being backed by the Jewish communityhttps://t.co/osT5k1TTIO
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Tsedillas added that the delivery company drivers confronted him and accused him of promoting hatred. "They came to the restaurant and said they wouldn't take deliveries as long as the flags and pictures were out." He also said the company removed the restaurant from its app and only reinstated it after he threatened legal action. It should be noted that a source on behalf of the company denied this claim in an interview with the New York Post, and said that after an investigation of Tesdilas' claims, no basis was found for them.
The lifeline, according to Tesdilas, came from the Jewish community, which came to his aid when it learned of the boycott his restaurant was undergoing because of his open expression of support for Israel. "It started with one customer who saw the posters and then spread the word and encouraged her friends to come to the restaurant and support her," he said. "Then she sent an email and it went viral. They supported us tremendously. Posts are published online and customers come from places like New Jersey, Philadelphia and Delaware. The business has flourished ever since."
Tessadillas is not Jewish, he said, but his father-in-law, partner and best friend are Jewish. "It's the most humane thing to do. We want to find these people and bring them back," he said, adding: "It's not my family, but if it were, I'd want people to make that voice heard." He also said: "I feel the real pain of the people whose families are missing, not knowing where they are, what they are doing and whether they are being treated fairly. Are they dead or alive? It's not fair."
Despite experiencing an attack on his support, Tsedilas does not regret and expresses great appreciation for those who support him and reinforce him for standing up for his views. "We are all people. I don't want Palestinians to die. I don't want anyone to die, but what happened to Israel is an attack. It's people's children, fathers, mothers. It's horrific. Wars should be between countries and armies, not innocent people."
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