LI Diner Displays Israeli Flags, Hostage Photos: 'Somebody's 2-Year-Old Child Is Missing'

HUNTINGTON, NY — Jewish support for Golden Globe Diner in Huntington has picked up after a handful of regulars stopped eating there following owner Peter Tsadilas's grand display of support for Israel.

Israeli flags and posters of missing hostages line the outer walls of the diner, at 365 Main St., Huntington. Tsadilas said he put them up a few weeks ago to raise awareness of the more than 200 people kidnapped by Hamas militants.

"I feel like if you look at some things on the internet, and as soon as you swipe away, you forget about it, and people just move on," Tsadilas told Patch. "They forget. I figured by putting this up, people would be constantly reminded about what’s going on somewhere in the world. Somebody's 2-year-old child is missing, and somebody's 16-year-old daughter who decided to go to a concert, who knows?"

Tsadilas does not intend to take down the flags or posters until the hostages are released, he said.

A woman who came in to eat at the diner and saw Tsadilas's support for the Jewish population then spread the word. The diner has since got a lot of patronage from the Jewish population — some even out of state — which Tsadilas said "really felt good."

"They're very sincere about their feelings. They took me in as their own. They feel like no one has ever really supported them. Me being a non-Jewish guy making a statement like this was very important to them. I felt really good about it."

Tsadilas said he got phone calls from a woman who said her sister was in captivity, from people who have connections to the Holocaust, as well as from Israel and California.

"A lot of people have thanked me for what I’ve done. It did feel good," he said.

Not everyone has been so supportive, according to the diner's owner.

"I've gotten some weird phone calls from people saying stupid things on the phone," he said.

A few new busboys or runners who had recently started at the diner abruptly quit after Tsadilas hung the posters, leaving the diner shorthanded, he said.

Delivery drivers, according to Tsadilas, told him he should not be "promoting hate" or "promoting a country that kills babies and bombs hospitals," and told him they would no longer make food pickups at his diner. The drivers, Tsadilas said, also threatened to report his diner for discrimination.

Four or five regular customers, who Tsadilas said are Muslim-Middle Eastern, had gone to the Golden Globe Diner daily or at least three or four times a week. They stopped showing when he put up the Israeli flags after being regulars for a year, he said.

"We have lost some business," Tsadilas said. "We weren’t doing a tremendous amount of business, anyway. We're a coffee shop. When you lose five or six regulars, it does hurt. Especially when they come three or four times a week."

While losing loyal regulars didn't make Tsadilas "feel good," he said he put himself in their shoes.

"I don't really know where they're from," he said. "I don't know if they're Palestinians or where they’re from. I felt bad. I felt bad, because I did this on a whim."

While he lost a handful of regulars, the support the diner has since gotten from the Jewish community has more than made up for the loss, financially, according to Tsadilas.

Tsadilas has always been "pro-Israel" because of the country's proximity to Greece, where Tsadilas and his family emigrated from to the U.S.

"If Israel goes down, you know, the Greeks are right there," he said. "We’re an easy target because we’re not fighters of war. We’re almost neutral. I've always been pro-Israel."

Tsadilas knows his stance isn't popular with everyone, and said he would "welcome people if they want to protest" at his diner.

"They have the right to do so. I was brought to America when I was like 10 years old. I was brought here because I could have a better future. More importantly, freedom of speech and have an opportunity to do something better with my life."

Tsadilas said he got the idea to display the flags when his friend told him that his son left New York to return to Israel, where he serves in Israel's army.

"His son said, 'Dad, I’m going to stay and fight for our country,'" Tsadilas said. "He’s very proud of him, but as a father, he really wants him to come home. That was the first time I thought about doing it."

Tsadilas also thought of his Jewish father-in-law, who he said is "very dear" to him and has faced anti-Semitism. He decided to honor them by putting the flags out and condemn Hamas' taking of hostages.

"The hostages and everything, we really feel like the hostages don't have much to do with this war," Tsadilas said. "They’re just innocent bystanders. They’re not soldiers. They should really be released. They're being held as bait by Hamas to control the Israeli Army and what they’re doing."

While Tsadilas adopted a pro-Israel stance, he said he is not anti-Palestine.

"I can’t control the war and who’s fighting. I don’t want Palestinians to die. I just want these hostages, who are innocent, to get home to their families. There are innocent Palestinians. There are good Palestinians, just like any other country," he said. "This [war] should be settled on the battlefield."

Tsadilas started by placing photos of hostages who were under 10 years old on his window.

"When I did that, then, I said, 'Well, why am I valuing one life more than the other? These people could be mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers. So I decided to go the extra mile and started going more.'"

Any blowback from residents of the town who said they did not want the publicity or because it was "depressing" to look at every day only motivated Tsadilas even more, he said.

Tsadilas put himself in the position of parents whose children were taken hostage by taking a photo of his daughter and holding it up to one of the "missing" posters, he said.

"I got chills, and I said, ‘You know what? I’ve got to do this.’ I started putting up all photos of hostages. The truth of the matter is, I feel like I can help by putting those pictures up, because it will be a constant reminder for people."

Tsadilas said he is aiming to get other restaurateurs — particularly diner owners — to promote Israel the same way he is.

'That’s why I said Greek diners support Israel," he said. "Because I'm hoping some of my fellow Greeks will support Israel, because if it wasn’t for the Jewish community, there would not be any diners. We would not have made it through the 90s. If we have 150 diners on Long Island left right now, I guarantee you if the Jewish community wasn't around, there would be 40, or 30, or 20. Jewish people frequented diners. Greek owners go on vacation over Passover, because it’s not busy."

Tsadilas thanked his staff for their hard work, as the diner is "so undermanned," he said.

"I'm really, really, really grateful to my staff. My staff is second to none. We've been working hardcore since this happened, and they’ve so stepped up to cover all these gaps. Our performance is a B or a B- because a lot of people came in, and it was hard to really be perfect all day long. My staff is second to none, and I’m really blessed."