“The Beauty of America” – Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce Announces Grand Opening Ceremony for Immigrant Business Boycotted by Anti-Semites
By: Shimmy Blum
“Go home Jews!”
In recent weeks, scores of rabid anti-Semitic demonstrators have been at and around the site of Asher Caffe’ and Lounge in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, doing everything they can to harm the business prospects of this new upscale kosher establishment. They were angry and aggressive – police officers needed to restrain them – and they did not even attempt to mask their blatant bigotry and anti-Semitism. The rabble rousers riled up the local population, urging them not to patronize the café’, and even intimidated the local Chamber of Commerce into terminating its affiliation with the café’.
Why? The demonstrators’ stated rationale for their hatefest was the fact that the café’s proprietor, Asher Shalom, shared some Trump tweets and memes supportive of his policies on social media. No doubt, the fact that Asher’s a successful Orthodox Jew factors in their bigoted zealotry as well, as does the claim that this beautiful establishment equals “gentrification” of Boyle Heights. The scenes were outrageous, reminiscent of the pogroms of yore. The clips of the demonstrations went viral on major US and international media outlets, and social media.
Seeing the senseless threat to this business, the Wall Street based Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce immediately sprang into action. Duvi Honig, the Chamber’s Founder and CEO, contacted Mr. Shalom and his son David, an active associate in both the textile business and the café’. He committed to put all of the Chamber’s resources to work on their behalf. “In America, we cannot tolerate the boycotting of any business due to the religion or personal political views of its owner,” Duvi exclaims. “We are proud to step in and help bring unity and love to this country in a bipartisan manner while helping the café’ voice its message of peace to the community, loud and clear.”
To this end, the Chamber is pleased to announce that a major grand opening ceremony for the café’ has been scheduled for Wednesday, August 8th, in the afternoon, with Americans from around the nation expected to join. Major dignitaries – including business leaders, community leaders and a bipartisan delegation of elected officials – will grace the event, which will include ribbon cutting, a VIP roundtable discussion and a strong focus on economic development. This event will be covered by major national and international media outlets, providing the proper positive spotlight for Asher Caffe’ and Lounge, its proprietor, employees and patrons.
As they well deserve.
By any normal measure, this business would be a reason for every American to celebrate. Mr. Shalom, was born in Iran and then lived in Israel. In 1988, he arrived to the United States, penniless. On our shores, Asher built a successful textile business from scratch, most recently helping outfit the US Olympics team. He is among the sole major American textile manufacturers who, to this day, manufactures exclusively in the United States. “The reason I am most drawn to President Trump,” Mr. Shalom explains, “is that he wants to bring overseas jobs back to the United States.”
More so, virtually all of Asher’s over seventy employees – in both businesses – are legal immigrants, who hail from Mexico, South America, Central America and Asia. These immigrant employees are “like family” to the Shaloms, enjoying pleasant work conditions, generous salaries, health insurance and 401k benefits, even profit sharing. Several of Asher’s immigrant employees testified to the media as to how well they’re treated – all the while the rabble rousers railed that their employer was anti-immigrant.
In addition, Asher is a generous philanthropist, who supports a diverse array of communal causes, both within and beyond the Jewish community. He is also very patriotic and civic minded – offering, for instance, steep discounts at the café’ for police officers, firefighters, military personnel and veterans, as well as all Boyle Heights residents.
The new café’ is an enormous asset to the Boyle Heights neighborhood and its surrounding residents, as well as the countless professionals who work everyday in nearby downtown Los Angeles. It is spacious – over 5,000 square feet – and uniquely upscale, with delicious food, of course. The jobs, tax revenue and enhanced stature it brings to the neighborhood are substantial.
Radical bigots prefer to destroy rather than build. The Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce – whose motto is “empowerment” – will counter that. “I would like to thank Duvi Honig and the Chamber for bringing light into the darkness,” says David Shalom. “The upcoming grand opening is a great opportunity for us to recalibrate and move forward in a positive manner.”
Indeed, ever since the upcoming grand opening was announced, support has been pouring in from around the country. Concerned Americans of all stripes have offered messages of support for the Shaloms, as well as contributed their time and talent to make the event a success. Many have said that they will personally attend as well.
Stressing that his family name means “peace” in Hebrew, Asher is optimistic as well. “It doesn’t matter whether you are a Democrat, Republican, Jew, Christian or anyone else – we all share the same flag,” he says. “If we respect each other, we all succeed. That is the beauty of America.”
For more information about the upcoming grand opening ceremony, including RSVP and sponsorships, please contact Duvi Honig at duvi@ojchamber.com.