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Owner of Pro-Israel New York City Cafe Where Hamas-Supporting Staff Quit Says He Still Struggles to Find Employees

Shiryn Ghermezian

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Aaron Dahan speaking at the American Friends of Magen David Adom’s annual New York City gala on Oct. 27, 2026. Photo: Abbie Sophia Photography

The Jewish owner of New York City’s Caffe Aronne spoke to The Algemeiner about the challenges still facing Jewish business owners in New York following the deadly Hamas-led terrorist attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Aaron Dahan’s cafe in the Upper East Side opened in 2022 and shortly after the Hamas massacre, it began raising money for Israel’s national emergency medical and blood service Magen David Adom (MDA). Dahan’s family – his father is Lebanese while his mother has Afghani-Israeli roots – had previously donated an ambulance to MDA and his late grandfather was a big supporter of the organization.

Dahan, a Ramaz graduate, also has a relative who was killed in the Nova music festival terrorist attack. Photos of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war were placed in the windows of Cafe Aronne, as well as an Israeli flag alongside an American flag.

On Nov. 7, 2023, shortly after Dahan began fundraising for MDA, his baristas quit. He told The Algemeiner his staff came in that day wearing Palestinian flag pins and distributed a fake menu for the cafe that had items like “Palestinian baby blood latte,” before ultimately emptying the cash register and walking out of the cafe.

In response, New Yorkers lined up around the block to support Caffe Aronne and keep it open. Some even offered to work at the cafe until Dahan could hire new staff members, and pro-Israel supporters from around the world called to voice their solidarity and ask how they could help. Cafe Aronne ultimately raised enough funds to donate two medicycles to MDA, with a third on its way.

Now three years later, Dahan was honored on Tuesday night at the American Friends of Magen David Adom (AFMDA) annual New York City gala and given the Community Impact Award. He spoke to The Algemeiner on the sidelines of the event about the full circle moment – being honored by the same organization that he raised funds for and lost his staff over – and the current climate for business owners in New York City.

“We’ve made a lot of enemies, but we’ve definitely also made a lot of friends. We definitely get a lot more love than we do hate,” he said. “Our windows still display Israeli flags. Every so often someone will come in and scream ‘Free Palestine,’ ‘Go back to Poland’ … it’s crazy how the temperature has changed, especially in New York.”

“The community is what made the contributions to Magen David Adom possible, and was really there for us,” he added. “In the shadow of Oct. 7, to see the entire [New York] community – Jewish and non-Jewish, left-wing, right-wing, secular, religious – come choose our cafe and stand by us through a tough time was very inspirational.”

Dahan said the experience three years ago with his staff, and the solidarity his cafe received from New Yorkers, made him realize how much a supportive community can help push through any obstacle.

“Even before Oct. 7, it was difficult to go out in New York and say we’re Israeli and we’re kosher and we’re proud of it,” he explained. “When the staff walkout happened, it kind of reinforced that fear but it also instilled the reaction afterwards that the community, the clientele, the people that stood behind us really proved that it is so much more than just a business. It really is a community. That’s why our brand slogan now is, ‘Where craft and community meet.’”

In the aftermath of the staff walkout and subsequent support from New Yorkers, Cafe Aronne decided to get kosher certification for the first time ever. The cafe now only serves items that are strictly cholov Israel and pas yisroel.

Earlier this year, Dahan opened a Cafe Aronne location on the Upper West Side, located inside the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. His cafes have had some favorite clientele, including Naftali Bennett and Steven Spielberg, and currently employ 14 baristas, only two of whom are Jewish.

Dahan said the biggest post-Oct. 7 change for Jewish business owners in New York is finding employees who are willing to work for an openly pro-Israel establishment. He explained that colleagues in the food industry have expressed similar sentiments about facing difficulties finding a good labor force, amid the Israel-Hamas war and the current antisemitic climate in New York.

“The first call after we approve somebody’s application, I always tell them, ‘This could be a 20-second call or a 20-minute call. It’s a kosher cafe with an Israeli flag and an American flag just as large in the window. If it makes you feel uncomfortable or you sympathize with one side that maybe doesn’t align with our beliefs, this is not a place for you,” Dahan noted. “Maybe seven out of 10 calls end right there.”

“I’ve seen like-minded businesses that have since closed. I’ve seen some, including a coffee shop, that took down their flags, distanced themselves from [Israel], and I think they are doing better,” he added. “There are a lot of people in the service industry, they don’t maybe get as educated, they go on TikTok and that’s how they get their opinions. In a world where the service industry heavily relies on younger and more liberal minded people, it is really, really tough. Very, very tough.”

AFMA CEO Catherine Reed told The Algemeiner that Dahan is an inspiration for being a staunch supporter of Israel despite the backlash his business has faced.

“He has been punished for the fact that his cafe was so proudly Israeli and that he was so supportive of Israel after Oct. 7. [But] he still ran fundraising [for MDA] because he cared so much about Israel,” Reed said of Dahan. “We were so impressed with his courage and with the fact that his commitment and devotion to Israel could never waver.”

Founded in 1930, MDA has more than 40,000 volunteers and professional working to save lives across Israel, 211 EMS stations around the country, and 2,000 emergency vehicles. The organization is working to expand its ambulance fleet as well as training for paramedics, Reed said.

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