Emory Village bakery Ali’s Cookies has been fighting antisemitic acts since Oct. 7, when Hamas brutally attacked Israel.
The ongoing war in Israel has brought unwanted attention to Israelis Nofar and Sagi Shablis, owners of the shop. Ali’s Cookies has received postcards glorifying the Holocaust, watched people leave in disgust at the store’s Israeli flag and spit on the front stoop, and received hurtful comments on social media and in person.
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“It’s all around us. It never ends,” said Nofar. “People are still coming in and saying, ‘We don’t support you because you support genocide.’”
This week, a new act of intimidation occurred when a man entered Ali’s Cookies and approached the counter, setting down a copy of the book “Mein Kampf,” the 1925 autobiography of Nazi leader Adolph Hitler. The book promotes antisemitism and racism.
“The man put the book down and was waiting for my husband to say something. He bought a Coke, looked at the Israel flag, and took some photos of it. Then he sat at a table, talking to himself, and after a few minutes he left,” Nofar said.
The Shablis’ contacted the FBI immediately. “We love Israel and we love America. It’s why we moved here,” said Nofar. “I don’t know when it will end, I just hope it’s soon.”
Sagi’s grandmother was a Holocaust survivor.
“As a Jew, we learned about the Holocaust and we know people who were there. That makes more difficult to understand people [who hate Jews],” said Nofar. “They’re just doing it out of spite.”
The Anti Defamation League reports that antisemitism has skyrocketed since Oct. 7. College campuses have been struggling with arrests over encampments and protests for months, including locally at Emory and SCAD.
ADL Regional Director Eytan Davidson said it is a sign of the times that people can “shamelessly promote an antisemitic agenda in a Jewish-owned business in such a carefree manner.”
“The normalization of antisemitism that we are seeing right now in our country has a corrosive effect on our society,” said Davidson. “While [this incident] may not be a crime, the normalization of hate does eventually lead to worse things.”
“This is very much an act that tries to normalize what are completely unacceptable, hateful, anti semitic opinions, points of view and agendas,” said Davidson.
Located down the block from Chabad at Emory, Ali’s Cookies has been part of the Jewish community on Emory’s campus. A peaceful rally was held at Ali’s Cookies during the campus protests in April.
Davidson added: “They don’t deserve any of this. Nobody does.”
