On Location with Ethiopian-Jewish Chef and Restaurateur Beejhy Barhany
Being Jewish with Jonah Platt
Jonah Platt
4.9 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 10 March 2026
⏱️ 61 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this delectable episode of Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah records on location in Harlem, New York, at Tsion Café, America’s only Ethiopian-Israeli restaurant, for a conversation with owner and chef Beejhy Barhany about Ethiopian Jewish (Beta Israel) culture, food, and identity. Beejhy explains Tsion Café’s mission of bridge-building through vegan kosher cuisine and storytelling, and why she recently closed daily dining and now hosts only private events, due to years of anti-Zionist harassment, threats, and vandalism that intensified after October 7 and after becoming fully kosher. She discusses Harlem’s support, her meaning of “Zion,” and her belief that food can break barriers. Beejhy discusses Beta Israel’s unique history, questions of legitimacy, her family’s 1980–83 trek from Ethiopia to Israel, and experiences of discrimination and “conversion” pressures in Israel.
Walking through the café, Beejhy shares the venue's legacy and culinary inspirations with Jonah. The two head into the kitchen to make samosas, discuss injera, dabo, spices, and her NY Times bestselling cookbook (Gursha). During the discussion, she describes founding the BINA (Beta Israel of North America) Cultural Foundation and raising her children with multifaceted identities.
TOPICS INCLUDE:
- The story of the Beta Israel Jewish community of Ethiopia and their ancient connection to Judaism.
- Beejhy recounts her family’s escape from Ethiopia and years spent in Sudan before immigrating to Israel.
- Discussion of major Ethiopian Jewish airlifts, including Operation Moses and Operation Solomon.
- Life in immigrant absorption centers in Israel alongside newcomers from Ukraine and Russia.
- The role of Tsion Cafe as a cultural hub for Ethiopian Jews and the wider Jewish diaspora.
- Why Beejhy founded the Beta Israel North American Cultural Foundation (BINA) to promote Jewish diversity.
- The closing of Tsion Cafe’s regular dining service due to anti-Zionist harassment following October 7.
- Conversations about racism, identity, and the need for unity within the global Jewish community.
- How Ethiopian cuisine, such as traditional dishes served with injera, helps build cultural bridges.
- Reflections on raising multicultural Jewish children in New York City.
- The importance of celebrating Jewish diversity across communities from Israel to Africa and the United States.
Thank you to our sponsors and promotional partners:
And a Special Thanks to our production partner on this episode: Jewish Broadcasting Services (JBS)
Mentioned In The Episode:
NYC’s only Ethiopian-Israeli restaurant closes after anti-Zionist harassment: ‘So much animosity’
The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley
How This New York Restaurant Is Carrying on the Legacy of the Harlem Renaissance
Art Tatum: A Talent Never to Be Duplicated
The Incredible Story of Ethiopian Jews and Their Journey to Israel
Gursha: Timeless Recipes for Modern Kitchens, from Ethiopia, Israel, Harlem, and Beyond: A Cookbook
Injera: Ethiopia’s Traditional Bread in Pictures and Words
Lost Tribes beer company resurrects ancient brews
Beta Israel of North American Cultural Foundation
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm I'm Shalom Chavarverim, Banot, and welcome to another very special episode of the world's number one Jewish podcast. |
| 0:38.9 | Today we are set to embark on a BJJP first. But before we do, I have to ask for a small favor. As an independent |
| 0:44.9 | show, we don't have a massive marketing machine behind us. Our growth is purely organic, fueled |
| 0:50.9 | by dedicated viewers and listeners like you. So if you would be so kind, please take |
| 0:56.5 | 30 seconds, head over to Apple Podcasts and Spotify, find this show, and leave me a five-star rating |
| 1:03.3 | and a short written review. I love seeing all of your thoughtful and generous feedback. Some of it |
| 1:08.7 | has even made it onto the show and may again. |
| 1:11.4 | And as of this recording, we are just eight ratings away from hitting 500 on Apple. |
| 1:16.4 | Crossing that threshold would be a huge milestone for us. |
| 1:19.9 | It's a small mitzvah on your part, but it really is the fuel that allows us to keep these amazing |
| 1:25.0 | conversations going. So thank you in advance. Unless you don't |
| 1:29.3 | leave a rating, in which case you're a butthead. Okay, as I said, BJJP first. Today's episode |
| 1:36.0 | will not take place on a set or in a theater as every other episode of this show has. |
| 1:42.3 | Instead, thanks to my incredible partners at JBS, the Jewish |
| 1:45.7 | Broadcasting Service, where you can find new episodes of this show on your TV every Thursday |
| 1:50.3 | night and then some, we will be off-site today, on location, on my guest's home turf, because |
| 1:56.9 | this particular place is as much a part of the conversation as my guest is herself. |
| 2:02.5 | The where is Harlem, New York's historic uptown neighborhood that has been home to so many |
| 2:07.9 | African American cultural institutions over the past hundred plus years. |
| 2:12.2 | Today, we're going to step foot into one such, with a decidedly Jewish twist. |
| 2:18.3 | Tzion Café is America's first and only Ethiopian Israeli restaurant, though it nourishes the |
| 2:25.0 | community through far more than just delicious vegan kosher food. |
... |
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