Last month, The Daily Wire brought you the story of a leftist-owned cafe called “Manny’s,” that was targeted by other leftists for it’s “pro-Israel” owner. At the time, “Anti-Zionist” social justice groups were organizing protests against Manny’s, harassing patrons and blocking the entrance to the Mission District sandwich shop over the owner’s “Zionist” leanings.
Since then, it seems the situation has only gotten worse. This week, protesters not only blocked entrances to Manny’s, they harassed and intimidated the owner, 29-year-old Manny Yekutiel, and spray-painted the bookstore/cafe with a Star of David and the words, “F*** Zionism.”
The “Anti-Zionist” groups crowed about their “decisive actions” against “white supremacy” on Twitter, with pictures of their protest and a manifesto against the “white supremacists” who dined inside.
Last night, Black and Brown Social Club, the Lucy Parsons Project, QUIT (Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism) and allied groups showed up to fight the Zionist-Gentrification cafe Manny’s while white supremacist Zionists ate a meal in support of Manny’s: pic.twitter.com/Ff7g8VhZcx
— LucyParsonsProject (@LucyParsonsProj) December 27, 2018
According to a neighborhood news blog, Mission Local, the groups — the Black and Brown Social Club, the Lucy Parsons Project (a “radical black-queer direct action group fighting anti-blackness in the Bay Area”) and Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (or QUIT) — had organized a boycott of Manny’s, but the boycott failed because of widespread community support for what many believe is a local gem.
So the groups toughened their approach.
“Manny’s as a gentrifying wine-bar, cafe and fake ‘social justice’ space in the Mission District, will only accelerate the raising of rents and the displacement of Black, Latinx, disabled and trans/queer people in the Mission,” a letter issued by the Lucy Parsons Project to various San Francisco Progressive groups read. “Additionally, the proprietor of Manny’s, Emmanuel Yekutiel, has unequivocally espoused racist, Zionist, pro-Israel ideals that we will not tolerate or accept in our community. … We will not tolerate gentrifiers (sic) and Zionists attempts at invading and destroying our community through ‘woke-washing’!!”
The amassed protesters “painted a Star of David on Manny’s exterior along with the words “F*** Zionism.” A window was broken.”
The owner, Mr. Yekutiel, is about as far from a right-wing, MAGA hat-wearing conservative as humanly possible. As The Daily Wire reported last month, Yekutiel is a member of the LGBT community, worked in the Obama White House as an intern, and volunteered on both Barack Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns. Manny’s Cafe has hosted a number of decidedly Democratic events, including fundraisers for “incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, and activists with Black Lives Matter.”
Manny’s theory behind opening his cafe/bookstore was to create a community hub that would support progressive activism within the Mission District — “a new physical place to go to become a better informed and more involved citizen” — according to Eater Magazine, and he raised his initial start-up cash on Kickstarter. The cafe serves only locally sourced, locally made drinks and treats, and stocks its bookshelves with “political reading material.”
Manny wanted the cafe to serve the role of a “salon” where people could have deep conversations about saving the world. But that pipe dream came to a crashing halt when progressive activists found out Manny was Jewish and supports Israel.
The Forward reports:
The Lucy Parsons Project claims that Yekutiel is furthering gentrification in their neighborhood and criticized him for posting things like “Happy 70th Birthday Israel!” and “I am so proud of Israel and its people” on his personal Facebook page. They also wrote that he is “pinkwashing and blackfacing his gentrification and Zionism” by bringing in minority and LGBT guest speakers.
Fortunately for Manny’s, the response to the Lucy Parsons Project’s boycott has been favorable — to Manny’s.
One of the more bizarre restaurant recommendations I’ve seen but I’ll certainly give it a go. Thanks love.
— (((Simon Lawrence))) (@HFC_Guv) December 28, 2018
Can’t wait to eat there. Thanks for the rec.
— stevesywonder (@stevesywonder) January 9, 2019
Your misguided protests put #Mannys on the map. I will support Manny’s in every way I can!
— @identitypolitique How’s that revolution going? (@femocratsrisin1) December 30, 2018
Non-Jewish owned businesses in the Mission District were, of course, not part of the boycott.