For nearly two months now, a small Israeli-owned restaurant in Vancouver, Canada, has been the subject of repeated anti-Semitic attacks. However, according to the owner, the local police do not respond to the constant threatening actions it experiences.
The restaurant, "Ofra's Kitchen", is located in the bustling West End area of Israel's third largest city, and serves Israeli and Middle Eastern vegetarian delicacies such as falafel, hummus, sabih, shakshuka and more. This eatery, which boasts an almost perfect average of reviews on Google (4.9 on 289 ratings), is headed by owner Ofra Sixto, 62, an Israeli who has lived in Vancouver for more than 30 years.
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"I opened the restaurant about four years ago, a month before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic," Skisto tells us in a conversation we had with her. "I have accumulated many clients – Israelis, Arabs and others. People come to eat good, tasty food that reminds them of home and Mom's kitchen."
Did you experience anti-Semitic incidents in the restaurant even before the war?
"Already during Operation Guardian of the Walls, they started harassing me. They called me and threatened to murder and rape me – all in Arabic, and I speak Arabic. I called the police, they investigated and reached the man who threatened and warned him. Even then, there were demonstrations outside the restaurant that lasted for several months. After that it was quiet, but from October 7, after I hung the Israeli flag on the window, daily nightmares began."
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Although Sixto, originally from Yehud, has made it her mission to help the local community and donates fresh, nutritious meals to the homeless in Vancouver, it turns out that her restaurant, just like Jewish-owned businesses in other countries, is not immune to the shocking anti-Semitic and pro-Palestinian tsunami that is flooding the world in the shadow of the war in Gaza.
More than a month ago, after hanging an Israeli flag on the restaurant's window and attaching pictures of the abductees in Gaza to a nearby tree, the place found itself targeted by racially motivated attacks. The phenomenon was covered in the local media, and a politician named Spencer Chandra-Herbert even announced his intention to dine there to express solidarity with Sixto. "Her business became a target because she's Jewish, and there's no place for that in Canada," Chandra-Herbert said at the time. "I'll get there on Friday on the way back from the legislature and have lunch there, because she needs our support."
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Shaming anti-Semites
Several weeks have passed since then, and the situation seems to have remained the same. "People come into the restaurant non-stop shouting 'death to the Jews,' 'from the river to the sea,' 'it's a pity Hitler didn't finish the job,' and things like that. Even today, someone came in, said something in Arabic and left," Sixto emphasizes. "I call the police most of the time – sometimes they come to take a statement and sometimes they don't."
At the same time, the determined restaurateur continues to work on behalf of Israel and the abductees on social media – and on the Canadian street – making sure to document her efforts without fear or fear. One of the restaurant's security cameras, for example, shows a man tearing up pictures of the abductees she had hung, while in another post she captured a man entering the restaurant and declaring, "I hope all Jews die."
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He shouted insults and ripped off pictures of the abductees. You can always glue them back. Aren't you worried that the restaurant – and yourself – could be more harmed?
"I'm not afraid and behave normally. I will not stop my advocacy activity because, in my opinion, Israel does not have a good enough propaganda that illustrates our security situation and what we are going through in Israel. The media here is very biased, pro-Gaza and anti-Semitic, and shows only the side of the Arabs. I feel that if I don't do it here, the abductees and the dead won't have a voice."
Are the police really not helping?
"The local police aren't built for these things, because it's usually pretty quiet in Vancouver. Now there are demonstrations by Arabs here, but it's not just them, it's also those who support them: young whites or Asians. Hundreds go out to protest and the police just don't know what to do. People complain that keeping their demonstrations takes a lot of money from the state. Not long ago, they conducted a survey here and realized that three-quarters of the population is in favor of the idea that those who are not willing to meet the conditions of Canada and bring violence and terror here are welcome to return to where they came from. Unfortunately, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants to bring the Palestinians here too – and that means bringing terrorists to Vancouver and Canada.
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But despite the pessimistic tone, Sixto's courageous and uncompromising stance seems to be bearing fruit in a sense, as one of her most encouraging videos recently shows the restaurant filled to capacity – with a long line of customers stretching deep into the street. Not only did the restaurant's guests come to enjoy a good meal, they also voted with their feet (well, and stomach) against the boycott calls the place had to deal with. As you can hear in the video, at least one of those supporters spoke Arabic.
Can we conclude from the video you uploaded that you also receive support from Arabs who oppose Hamas?
"The guy I spoke to in Arabic is a client of mine, I think from Lebanon or Libya. I was very happy to see him, but then I sent my son, who was working with me that day, to see if he'd left a bomb in the bathroom. This is the terrible reality we live in today."
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