A Syrian Kurd’s ‘Israeli’ Restaurant Attacked in Germany

Billal Aloge is a Kurd from Syria, now living in Freiburg, Germany. He is well aware of the humanitarian and diplomatic aid that Israel provided to the Syrian Kurds after the American pullout from Syria in 2019. At the time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “Israel strongly condemns the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish areas in Syria and warns against the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds by Turkey and its proxies. Israel is prepared to extend humanitarian assistance to the gallant Kurdish people.”

And so it has done ever since, helping to protect the Kurds in their Syrian stronghold of Rojava from the attempts of Turkish forces to take territory from them. And so, wanting to do something for Israel, Mr. Aloge opened Jaffa, what he describes as an “Israeli” restaurant, serving Israeli cuisine, which, of course, is not that different from Arab or Kurdish offerings — hummus, shakshouka, felafel, tabouleh, and so on — but does differ insofar as it contains an admixture of dishes that Ashkenazi Jews brought from Europe. This attempt at interfaith harmony through food was touching. But not everyone was happy. More on what happened to Billal Aloge’s restaurant, and to his food truck, and to Billal Aloge himself, can be found here: “Israeli Restaurant Owned by Syrian Repeatedly Attacked in Germany,” by Ailin Vilches Arguello, Algemeiner, May 5, 2026:

An Israeli restaurant in Germany has been repeatedly attacked while its Syrian Kurdish owner has been subjected to relentless harassment, underscoring a broader climate of hostility faced by Jews and Israelis across the country.

Restaurant owner Billal Aloge, a Muslim from Syria, has been subjected to escalating hatred and violence after publicly expressing support for Jewish life in his city by opening restaurants aimed at fostering dialogue and coexistence.

Shortly after opening his Israeli restaurant “Jaffa” in Freiburg, a city in western Germany, Aloge faced immediate hostility and a wave of online abuse.

Even after filing multiple police reports, the harassment did not stop, with unknown individuals continuing to target the restaurant. This included incidents of vandalism such as throwing rotten eggs at the premises, prompting the owner to repeatedly seek police intervention….

The antisemites have so much hate, that they don’t stop at harassing and attacking Jews. No, they also want to harass and attack anyone who makes a point of supporting Jews or Israelis. And especially enraging to antisemites are those Muslims who, like Billal Aloge, show sympathy for Israel.

Freiburg Mayor Martin Horn strongly condemned the attacks, stressing that the city would not tolerate such acts of hatred and would take them seriously, with full efforts to ensure accountability and protection for those targeted.

“There is no place in Freiburg for antisemitism, anti-Muslim racism, or any other form of hatred and incitement,” the German official said in a statement….

Oh dear. If only the Mayor of Freiburg did not feel himself obligated, if he was going to denounce antisemitism, to also denounce in the same breath “ant-Muslim racism.” Islam is not a race, and those who are anxious about the spread of Islam in Europe are not racists. They have good reason to be alarmed; their dislike of Islam is not a “phobia,” which is the word we use to describe an irrational fear or hatred. Fear and dislike, or even hatred, of Islam is not at all irrational, and the more one learns about the faith, and how Muslims regard non-Muslims, the greater that fear and dislike.

Separately, authorities also discovered antisemitic graffiti across several apartment buildings in Berlin-Pankow, including messages reading “Kill all Jews,” a swastika, and the statement “Only a dead Jew is a good Jew,” in a series of disturbing incidents over the week.

How nice. Eighty-one years after the defeat of Nazi Germany, antisemitism is back in fashion in Germany. Its supporters are a special house blend of neo-Nazi skinheads, loony Holocaust deniers, and Muslims who cannot be happy as long as the Jewish state of Israel exists. And any attempt by a Muslim to display empathy for the Israelis, as Billal Aloge did with his “Israeli” restaurant, the Jaffa, in Freiburg, should be smashed, and he himself subject to death threats. But he is undeterred; his “Israeli” restaurant is still open; his food truck, that had also been attacked, is still in service, and he keeps on keeping on. One hopes that Martin Horn, the mayor of Freiburg will now post a permanent security detail outside the Jaffa restaurant, and make its safety a priority, just as another priority must be to find those who have attacked the Jaffa, and Aloge’s food truck, and made death threats to Alloge online, and prepare for them a suitably condign punishment.