An antisemitic incident in Westport has drawn national attention.
In an Instagram post yesterday, a user named jonnydaniels described the scene as he and friends were leaving a restaurant in “a nice suburb of Connecticut” with Israeli flags.
He did not name it, but it was The Blondinit, the Israeli spot on Church Lane.
Speaking in an English accent, he recounts what he calls his first instance of antisemitism in the US.
A man in “a pub” across the street yelled “F— Israel! You’re committing genocide.”
Daniels swore back. Then — after some back and forth between his group and the man — they left.
“Unfortunately, that’s the world we live in today,” he says on Instagram.
The video got over 4,000 likes. Many commenters expressed emotions like sorrow and solidarity.
The Blondinit closed briefly, then reacted on social media — with the image of an Israeli flag, waving in the wind. (Click here to see the video.)
It too received dozens of messages of support.
Including several from people who said they look forward to dining there soon.
Screenshot from The Blondinit’s Instagram.
Daniels posted another video yesterday. He felt guilty that his publicity made the Blondinit’s owners feel they had to close, for safety.
But he was angry too, adding that that’s not how things should be.
He plans to speak with the owners — and to return again, with others, to be together.
And to enjoy The Blondinit’s excellent food. (Click here to see the video.)
Academia, Hollywood, legacy media and our schools are overrun with left wing neo-Marxists preaching the rhetoric of oppressor/oppressed. All the non-white people are oppressed (and by the way, inherently virtuous). Israel is successful and white (in the neo-Marxist mind, at least). Therefore they are oppressors. Go Team!
do an Ai search of the political affiliations of the Jan 6 riot leaders at the capital. By the way if so many were planted FBI and antifa why would Trump want them to receive compensation ?
wrong topic entirely
Sick people in this world, yelling at a jewish person having dinner for your unwarranted thoughts lathered in cuss words is inexcusable. I hope comments here do not turn into a zionism vs semitism discussion. Screaming and swearing at others in town for any religious or political beliefs is a gross behavior and that person should be warmly brought to the border of town and kicked out. Hate used to have no home here!
weaponized cruelty is being taught by our government and social media Many other countries also teach weaponized cruelty. It’s also entering religion. When humankind has destroyed enough we may change Perhaps Ai may help us change.
Unfortunately, the actions of a world leader, does not mean all the people of that country are just like the world leader. We should all understand that from history! Just because Hitler was awful doesn’t mean that all Germans were too. It certainly doesn’t mean that due to Israel’s actions all Israelis or all Jews are at fault for the actions of the country! For example does it mean that because some people who commit crimes are white that all whites are criminals? Blanket hatred is just wrong and those that believe this way are ignorant.
Are you equating Natanyanu with Hitler? “Due to Israel’s actions” ? You are implying that it is a far gone conclusion that Israel’s actions are without justification? There is a certain arrogance that comes from such a post, likely bc you live in the liberal/NY Times echo chamber. Based on the violent actions of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthi’s, I am very proud of how Israel has defended its citizens and is the best example of an open democracy that the Middle East has. Terrorist organizations hide behind innocent civilians to maximize their causalities to sway public opinion. Sadly, many ill informed people become Hamas’s usual idiots in this struggle. Not a big deal when you are sitting comfortably in your Westport home but Israelis can’t afford your level of suicidal empathy.
Church Lane is a Town-sanctioned public gathering space. With that privilege comes a shared obligation by both the Town and restaurant operators to ensure the area does not become a platform for intimidation, antisemitic abuse, or other hate-driven misconduct. I would hope the proprietor of the “pub” monitors alcohol consumption and patron behavior, acting swiftly to insure an appropriate and safe environment.
I hope The man must have had too much to drink. Yelling at people leaving a restaurant is so unwarranted and a sign of what state our country is in. Sad.
We can see the hate in people’s hearts. The point I’d like to make is how you can disagree with what Israel is doing and not be antisemitic.
Don’t conflate the two.
I don’t agree with what a lot of what our country is doing, yet, it doesn’t mean I hate Americans. I don’t want people yelling F*** the USA when they don’t like what the current administration is doing.
So there are two things going on. One is that someone is yelling at patrons of a business displaying the flag of the country of Israel about actions taken by the country of Israel. That is totally wrong, just as it would be wrong to scream at Americans when traveling abroad for the actions of the Trump administration. Perhaps the patrons or restaurant abhor Israel’s actions, just like many of us abhor Trump.
But that doesn’t make it anti-Semitic. Anti-Semitism is the hatred of Jews for the fact that they are Jewish. Not all Jews are Israeli, and many Jews both in Israel and abroad vehemently oppose Israel’s actions. Conflating the two is a dangerous road that leads Israel to be immune from criticism or scrutiny for its actions.
Well said.
I guess that’s why we’re constantly hearing about people standing outside Russian restaurants yelling at people eating there
I am confident that if there were a restaurant in Westport displaying the Russian flag at the height of the Ukraine invasion it would have triggered a similar response. And I am equally confident that if there were a restaurant displaying the Palestinian flag in downtown Westport, there would also be unpleasant reactions.
“ just like many of us abhor Trump”
was not part of the conversation and rude of you to interject it
you have at least a moderate case of TDS and might seek counseling.
As a proud Jew and proud Westporter, this is heartbreaking and unacceptable to see in our community. No one should face hate or intimidation for being openly Jewish or Israeli. I’ll absolutely be supporting Blondinit and encourage others to do the same. Westport is better than this — and moments like this are when it matters most to show up loudly with support, kindness, and community.
“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”
Not sure whom you are quoting…
“He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” The Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible (1611), “The Gospel According to John”, chapter 8, verses 7 is what I guess you’re alluding to
…or why?
Thanks. I needed that.
I find it completely unacceptable to randomly attack another for the troubles of the world.
Emotions run hot when there is palpable human suffering in the world. Ukraine, Cuba, Gaza, Sudan, Iran.
The reasons are complex and blame is not always easy to ascribe. We are all too human. The world feels out of control. Let’s help each other keep it together and understand the fragility of the human condition.
setting good examples help. Perhaps leadership might play a role in society. behavior ?
Do you not think that there is suffering in Israel? They were invaded by Hamas (as Ukraine was by Russia), and October 7th is their 9/11. They are attacked every single day. Thank goodness for the Iron Dome.
There are many more places of suffering, including Israel.
The instigator in this case was rude and vulgar and out of line. The restaurant patron reactively returned like fire, and turned up the heat.
Nevertheless, I believe that criticism of the Israeli government for its state actions is not anti-semitism. Criticisms of the Iranian government is not Islamophobia. Hating and baiting those simply because they are faithful to Judaism is antisemitism.
That is my belief, as a Catholic American who respects all faiths and currently dislikes the actions of my own government.
But when Israel and Israel alone is singled out for criticism, that’s antisemitism. I don’t see any protests in support of the Iranian people except for those held by Iranian expats. Where are the protests against China’s invasion of Tibet? Where are the protests against Nigeria’s persecution of Christians? *crickets*
You bizzarly missed Israel out of your list of those countries suffering in the world right now! Probably an oversight?
See above. My abbreviated list is not all inclusive. I also did not mention the USA, where just last week a school aged child watched in horror as ICE apprehended his father at a school bus stop in Bridgeport. Like I said, THE WORLD feels out of control.
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” – Romans 12:21
“just like many of us abhor Trump” slipping that into the conversation is obvious sign of TDS…seek help🙏
Hey Tom. Are you enjoying $4.50/gal gas, the “no new wars” in Iran and paying off the 1/6 criminals with your tax dollars?
This whole incident seems like a stunt.
Has anyone actually looked at the Instagram page of Jonny Daniels? It’s all pro-Netanyahu nonsense.
(Sorry the restaurant needed to close for a night.)
Yes, actually. Millions of people have seen his page. That’s rather the point.
Jonny Daniels is not a random guy with a phone and an opinion.
He’s a London-born IDF paratrooper who left a place at University College London at 18 to serve Israel, finished his service as a Staff Sergeant in an elite unit, worked as senior advisor in the Israeli Knesset, and has spent the last decade recovering Jewish headstones from Polish village roads.
A very well respect man in my Israel advocacy circle and to the outside world.
This guy– plant or not. From Westport or not. Johnny Daniels stalker or not…… It’s irrelevant.
He saw Jewish people leaving a restaurant.
And he screamed.
That’s not a political statement. That’s a reflex. And it’s a very old one.
Reducing this “pro-Netanyahu nonsense” isn’t a rebuttal. It’s an excuse. It’s the modern version of “well, what was she wearing.” It’s a search for a reason the target had it coming. I happen to LOVE Netanyahu.. but, the world needs to stop hiding behind the politician to excuse their age old blood libels and jew hatred.
ENOUGH.
He was eating dinner.
That’s it.
That’s the whole story.
What a ridiculous comment. Jews all over the world are being targeted and for some inexplicable reason, people are claiming that these incidents are somehow staged. For what reason would they be staged? For what purpose?
For the same reason that people who criticize the actions of the Netanyahu administration (and his lapdog, Trump) are targeted with claims of antisemitism.
Is there antisemitism in the world? Yes. (There is also bias against Muslims, people of color, the LGBTQ community, etc.)
Do some people weaponize the word “antisemitism” in an attempt to silence criticism of the Netanyahu administration? Yes, pretty obviously. (You see it in these comment sections, all of the time.)
So someone with a political position you disagree with reports an incident and you reflexively dismiss it as a “stunt.” What’s the evidence? Well, his Instagram page is supportive of Israel’s current Prime Minister. Has to be a stunt!
Debating whether this incident constitutes anti-Semitism is legit. Criticizing Netanyahu is legit. Knee-jerk dismissing as fake the story of someone you disagree with politically is not.
Oh, please! The only ones who think that antisemitism is being “weaponized” are antisemites. Where is the criticism of Putin lately? The criticism of Xi Jinping? When you single out only one nation and one leader for constant criticism, that’s antisemitism.
Nice attempt at whataboutism, Tracy. What would Xi Jinping or Putin have to do with this in the slightest?
Mr Pincus – I’m happy to examine any actual evidence that comes forward. But you are saying that I should just take for granted a selfie from a guy who has a proverbial axe to grind. Who just /happened/ to be in Westport to witness what he claims. What an amazing coincidence. I may have been born at night, but I wasn’t born /last/ night.
I guarantee if the shoe was on the other foot and it was a Palestinian restaurant where someone from Spotted Horse chanted “F- Palestine, terrorists,” you wouldn’t be questioning the story.
Also, by your logic we should be skeptical of anyone with “an axe to grind.” Recent topical example: Flotilla activists claiming mistreatment by Israel. By Chris Grimm logic, we should be highly skeptical of this story, as these are people who are clearly pulling a PR stunt and interested in eliminating Israel as a Jewish state.
It’s not “whataboutism”. I’m merely pointing out your hypocrisy.
You didn’t answer my question. You just deflected.
Wow! At least I know not to ask to hide my children in YOUR attic. It’s a local restaurant, Chris! Shame on you.
A man leaving an Israeli restaurant was screamed at from across the street.
“F*** Israel. You’re committing genocide.”
Just for eating dinner.
Now let me ask you something.
Has anyone ever screamed at someone leaving a Chinese restaurant about Uyghur concentration camps?
Has anyone ever confronted someone leaving an Indian restaurant about Kashmir?
Has anyone ever harassed diners leaving a Turkish restaurant about the Armenian genocide?
How about a Saudi restaurant? A Syrian restaurant? A Russian restaurant?
No.
It is always the Israeli restaurant.
It is always the Jewish people.
It’s not about foreign policy.
It’s not about land.
It’s not about a flag.
It never was.
Every. Single. Time.
If your outrage is selective, it isn’t outrage.
It’s antisemitism with better PR.
Thank you Dori. 100% correct.
Yelling at someone for eating at an Israeli restaurant is abhorrent. However, opposition to the Israeli government’s actions is not inherently anti-Jewish. Many Jews are opposed to the genocide in Palestine as well, including Hassidic Jews. If I am opposed to the actions of the Trump administration, does that make me anti-USA? Respectful opposition is necessary in a democracy.
Oh my goodness, sorry to weigh, I never comment on this stuff as it is a huge topic and I ask myself, why argue with strangers…however first time for everything……the problem is that there isn’t a genocide happening in Palestine, created by Israel. My family live there and if you watch the news or listen to social media ONLY, rather than go there, you will continue to be misinformed. Go there and then comment.
There is no genocide.
Hi Just watched video, he’s a nicely spoken English guy, not South African!. Shame he had to experience that in Westport.
If someone breaks into your house, do you have the right to defend yourself and your home? What would you do if someone attacked your home on October 6?
I would like to think I wouldn’t bomb hospitals, schools, and aid stations, murder journalists, nor commit genocide. But you do you.
Though, thank you for reinforcing my point.
You live in a country that has done all of these things. As a result, you get to safely perch in your ivory tower and sling arrows at people who don’t line up with your warped far-left view of the world.
Somewhere in Israel there is a Chris Grimm equivalent and I am thankful that he too is afforded this privilege.
Says the genocide defender. Must be nice justifying criminal actions and mass civilian deaths with whataboutism.
There is no “genocide”. You can’t just change the definition of a word to suit your agenda.
Then, by your one sided condemnation and logic, you are pro killing 1200 non military people, including the elderly, women and children, using rape as a means of war, taking billions of dollars to create tunnels in Gaza and exclude civilians from seeking shelter in them from the war you started, using hospital and mosque to wage war in violation of international law, and sending rockets specifically targeting civilians areas.
In the meantime, Israel’s war in Gaza has had a far fewer ratio of civilian causalities to combatant ratio than the U.S. had in Iraq and Afghanistan following 9/11. No one counts that ratio for Hamas or Hezbollah since civilian causalities is their goal.
Your selective outrage is bigotry, by definition.
Thank you for reinforcing the need for Israel. You do more for Zionism than almost anything else I can think of.
I have condemned the attacks of October 7 many times.
On many occasions I have said that the Israeli actions in response to 10/7 are akin to the US response after 9/11. Both countries have made grave mistakes in how they responded to terrible attacks.
“Whataboutism” is a logical fallacy. I prefer to keep focused on what is happening in the world right now. Do you really want people to comment on every ill in the history of the world, when they criticize the actions of Netanyahu today? Would that, somehow, make it better? It isn’t “bigotry” to stick to the issue at-hand.
@Matt – I certainly don’t defend many actions of the US government, but (outside of their participation in the current conflicts – like the idiotic attacks on Iran, now), but they aren’t what we are discussing now.
A grave mistake? The response to 10/7 was a “grave mistake”? It’s not a mistake at all given that Hamas has vowed to commit atrocities as they did on 10/7 again and again.
Chris, there is no genocide. There are very specific criteria regarding what constitutes genocide, and the war against Hamas did not fit any of those criteria. And perhaps if Hamas didn’t operate out of schools, hospitals, mosques and miles of terror tunnels under Gaza, those buildings would not be targets. Hamas knew exactly what they were getting into when they started a barbaric war on October 7th, and they don’t really care who amongst them dies. It’s a culture where martyrdom is celebrated.
Wow! to describe that as “antisemitism” worth broadcasting sure
shows an oversensitivity. If you’ve experienced real, life threatening antisemitism, you let shit like “Israel’s killing people”
go by, as a sad fact rather than antisemitism.
Hi Dan. I grew up in a very antisemitic community where I was assaulted for being Jewish as early as Kindergarten. My first grade teacher told my family to “Move to Millburn where you people belong.” I was pelted with pennies on Halloween. We had to move to another town, but at least there was a safe place to go. My husband and I ultimately chose Westport bc it was supposed to be a safe place to raise a Jewish family. For the first time since my childhood, I no longer feel safe anywhere, and I know I’m not alone. This incident was mild, but it penetrated a safe town, and that’s deeply upsetting- especially for Jewish people who haven’t endured antisemitism.
I disagree with how that guy handled it. Yelling at people like that is rude and pointless. But we should be able to criticize Israel’s government and what it’s doing in Gaza without it being called antisemitism. The death and destruction there is horrific, and calling every criticism antisemitic goes against the whole “Never Again” idea.
Exactly, Ryan…
This is about harassing someone just because he’s Jewish. This is what “Never again” is referring to because THIS is how it starts.
Israel is committing genocide. There’s nothing antisemitic about that statement. Antisemitism should not be used as a shield to shut down criticism. Doing so only dilutes and cheapens the many horrible, truly antisemitic incidents that happen every single day. Labeling someone an antisemite simply for pointing out truths is unjust and dishonest.
Everyone needs to remember:
ISRAEL IS A COUNTRY, NOT A RELIGION.
1). This IS a truly antisemitic event. Harassing Jews is uncalled for.
2). There is NO genocide.
P.S. Israel is a Jewish country.
1) Harassing Jews is uncalled for.
2) Define genocide for me.
P.S. Israel is not a Jewish country, it is simply a country. No country is defined solely by its religious makeup.
Like most countries, Israel is home to people of many different faiths, including Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, and others.
When people criticize America’s foreign policy, wars, or domestic decisions, that isn’t automatically labeled ‘anti-Christian’—even though the U.S. has a Christian majority.
So why should criticism of Israel’s actions and policies be reflexively treated as antisemitic? How does one criticize, constructively or otherwise, any element of Israels foreign policy decisions without it being considered anti-semitic? or are we simply not allowed to?
We went to the Blondinit for dinner this evening. Superb service, excellent food, and a crowd, with people taking pictures of themselves beneath a Jewish star. We have been there before and will return.
That’s not anti semitism..
that’s the truth.. Israel is committing genocide.. Zionist are not an ethnicity..
Palestinians are the semites.
Sorry, but Israel is NOT committing genocide. There is a very specific legal definition of what constitutes genocide, with very specific criteria. The war against Hamas did not meet any of those criteria. Also, Arabs speak a Semitic language, yes, but they are not indigenous to the Levant. They are indigenous to the Arabian peninsula. Jews are indigenous to the Levant and have had continual presence there for more than 3500 years. Finally, Zionism is not an ethnicity, but beyond that, I don’t think you even know what Zionism IS as opposed to what it is not.
Disheartening to see people pushing the absurdity that Israel is committing genocide – this despite possibly the lowest civilian-to-combatant casualty rates in urban warfare in the face of Palestinian militants using civilians, hospitals and schools to shield their rocket launchers, weapons, tunnels and militants (a war crime). Despite Israel dropping leaflets and providing unprecedented advance warning to minimize casualties. Despite the utter barbarism Hamas and its many supporters gleefully participated in and celebrated on 10/7 and thereafter.
I’m sure Hamas and its supporters are really just unhappy with Netanyahu and his policies. If only a more progressive leader was at the helm there would be peace. The vast majority of Palestinians in the region and their supporters have never in history accepted anything short of complete eradication of all Jews from the land they consider theirs, “from the river to the sea.”
As for those here who claim they’re only opposed to Netanyahu, sure you can criticize him and the country (as many Israelis do) and feel terribly about the horrors of war on all sides without being an antisemite. Nothing wrong with that. But when you start pushing the genocide canard, have nothing to say about (or even try to justify) the barbaric inhumanity documented by Hamas and its supporters, when you show indifference to firing rockets into civilian neighborhoods, when you oppose the existence of the only Jewish state but have no problem with the dozens of Islamic states, when you don’t utter a peep in response to massacres outside of Israel, when you target Jews and Jewish neighborhoods or restaurant patrons to show your hatred for Israel and support for the next intifada …. then don’t act surprised when people notice that if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.
I’m not sure this passes the sniff test. When I read the title of the article, “Local Antisemitism Incident Goes Viral”, I was alarmed. I clicked through to the video to find that it did not show the event. Instead, it was a selfie video of a man with an English accent in a Shalom baseball cap discussing an event he claimed occurred. Weird. I’ve lived in Westport for nearly 20 years and not heard of anything like this occurring. So I looked a little deeper.
Jonny Daniels is a Brit who runs a Holocaust remembrance foundation where he collects donations as a 501c3 nonprofit through links on his Instagram account. OK, this doesn’t mean he would create an event to justify donations. Maybe he is just more alert to this issue than other people.
What is his background? According to the bio from his website, jonnydaniels.com/about he served as “a strategic advisor to the IDF spokesperson unit, specializing on new media” before working as the strategic advisor to the deputy minister of defense, MK Danny Danon. International PR/Branding for the Minister of Defense and Deputy Speaker of the Knesset.
He has a very impressive work history, integral with senior members of the Likud party, what are his personal views? In a recent youtube interview with Shai Davidai, titled “The Golden Era of American Jewry is Over” he makes his opinions clear. He states “these aren’t our own countries, we are guests. We can fool ourselves to think that we’re welcome and some places are open to us and sometimes they are but that doesn’t last forever.” “You can forget that you’re a Jew all you want but one day someone is going to come and remind you.” Its a very enlightening interview where he discusses Gaza and the military in depth.
Also in the interview though, he calls Code Pink a left wing Jewish organization, which seems like a stretch, and goes on to compare it to the Jews who worked with the Germans in the Holocaust, out of bounds in my opinion. Towards the end, when asked about his vision for Israel, he seems to allude to Greater Israel noting that in 50 years, he will be able to “drive to Saudi Arabia by car and have wonderful holidays skiing in the north and coming down into Syria”.
Is he really the best litmus test for antisemitism in our community? We only have half of the story from a former PR person for the Likud party who worked with Donald Trump drumming up support for Bibi (Times of Israel, 1/13), believes the Era of American Jewry is over, and collects donations through his charity to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive. Its very possible that everything happened as he said but its also possible that it didn’t.
So because he didn’t record what was happening while it was happening that means it didn’t happen? What a ridiculous statement. I know I’d be too shocked and trying to process what was happening. I wouldn’t even be thinking of taking out my phone.
Everyone has had their say. This thread is closed to further comments.