A Palestinian flag hangs in the front window of Kings Salon barbershop in Bay Ridge, Al Jazeera news plays on the TV, and manager Bahaa Sharabati says almost every customer who sits in his barber’s chair has a view to share on the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, what the U.S. government should do, and the war’s mounting death toll.
“It’s not easy to see it. It’s not easy for my heart,” said Sharabati, a 42-year-old Palestinian immigrant who lives in the Brooklyn neighborhood, as he scrolled through news coverage of Israeli strikes on Gaza on the Telegram app. “But that’s how it is. That’s the truth. We have to face it.”
Since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in Israel, grief and fear have hovered over swaths of Bay Ridge — called “Little Palestine” by some for its large Palestinian community. More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the recent violence, most on Oct. 7; retaliatory strikes by Israel have killed more than 9,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Bay Ridge residents, shopkeepers and civic leaders say the anguish has only grown in recent weeks as reports of both anti-Palestinian and antisemitic attacks have increased.
“Everyone’s mourning, whether they’re Palestinian, Arab, different ethnicities, Muslims,” said Marwa Janini, director of the Arab American Association of New York, headquartered in the neighborhood. “We’re all mourning in Bay Ridge.”
She said the organization has withdrawn from any “remotely celebratory events,” including an annual film festival. It started a virtual weekly support group for Palestinian and Arab youth. The group also created a map of over a dozen “safe haven” businesses in the area that have agreed to provide refuge and assistance to passersby who feel threatened.
At local adult literacy and education classes, Janini said, parents have discussed being worried about the safety of their children, including those participating in pro-Palestinian rallies.
“There’s a…
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