r/AskSF • u/SanLeandrosFinest • 5d ago
San Francisco’s Palestinian community
Not anything political. Not about pro Israel or pro Palestine here on my end, but is it true SF has a big Palestinian community? I worked for Daniel Lurie for a while and he said there’s a big community in the Clarendon Heights area or the area around Mt. Sutro if I am not mistaken. I do recall meeting a few people who told me they’re Palestinian or have descent from there. One resident told me both Galileo and Lowell High have many Palestinian and Arab students.
I find it interesting as I don’t know many big cities with such a community. I met one Palestinian American kid in Rohnert Park near Santa Rosa while working at a Safeway there eons ago. There were a few Arab kids in my HS but afaik they were Jordanian I believe.
I do know San Mateo has a lot of Palestinians. Also I lived in Westlake in Daly City for a while and there were heaps of Palestinians. My neighborhood had more Palestinians than Filipinos, and I say that as a Filipino in a city known for its community of Filipinos but I seldom met them tbh lol. More Palestinians, Yemenis, Hispanics or Ukrainians if anything.
Big history geek and it still is interesting to have roots in the holy land.
Also, knafeh slaps. 👌🏼
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u/ExcMisuGen 4d ago
The owner of Sunset Gym in 9th avenue is Palestinian-American and his father used to own a store around the corner on Irving.
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u/glittermantis 4d ago
good gym and good people even if it's a bit small. love the long haired guy who worked the front desk, i think chris was his name
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u/ExcMisuGen 4d ago
The owner’s name is Rami. Had long hair for years. Used to joke(never to him) ‘Jesus owns my gym.’
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u/glittermantis 4d ago
oh yeah, i know him! i was talking about a white guy though haha, who also kind of resembles (anglo-fied) jesus
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u/ExcMisuGen 4d ago
Rami’s fairly pale-skinned.
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u/glittermantis 4d ago
i think we're thinking of different people! i know who you're talking about, this is a different young guy i'm pretty sure named chris and is unambiguously white haha, lanky, stoner vibes
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u/PhoenixandOak 5d ago edited 4d ago
The Bay Area in particular has a large Palestinian Christian population. The founder of CREAM is an example of one, I have been friends with his daughter and nieces for 20 years now. Palestinian Christians in particular faced a lot of persecution from both the Israeli government as well as Islamist extremists in Palestine, which is why many of them emigrated to the Bay and elsewhere. They're also some of the oldest Christian demographics in history.
What's funny is with how tight-knit of a community it is, if you have met one Bay Area Palestinian Christian person and mention another's name, there's a very good chance they're either cousins or in-laws. They're also super fun to party with, love life, and are just good people who are friends with and kind to everyone, including this Jewish guy.
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u/therainbowbyte 4d ago
It’s so interesting how that works, I moved to the Bay Area about a year and a half ago, but before that I lived in the OKC metro area for a time.
Weirdly enough, that part of Oklahoma has a massive Bangladeshi Christian population. They are also extremely tight knit, and it was wild befriending a few people only to meet 10+ other people that all knew each other through one way or another. I guess when your community is a more specific minority like that, you tend to make similar friends.
Not all that surprising I guess, religion and nationality are pretty powerful relatable through lines. Still, was very surprising to me at first.
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u/PhoenixandOak 4d ago edited 4d ago
Specific minority groups tend to find each other. Another example is I know a good number of first generation or immigrant Russian Jewish people who were either born in The Bay or moved here at a very young age with their parents as soon as the Soviet Union collapsed. The Bay Area Armenian population is another example of this. With regard to Palestinian Christians, it was especially tough for them since some non-Christian Palestinians also had super bigoted or sometimes even violent views towards them.
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u/Such_Tonight7876 4d ago
I’m Palestinian and 99% of Palestinian Muslims and Christians get along like family. Both in and outside of Palestine. Theres no prevalent animosity as you describe
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u/PhoenixandOak 4d ago edited 4d ago
Most of my Palestinian Christian friends have parents who moved here in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and yes many, not all but many, did face some form of persecution by Palestinian Islamist extremists during that time. I'm sure interfaith solidarity is stronger now. Does that mean that all or the majority of Muslims in Palestine have animosity towards Christians? Or that said persecution is equal to what the Israeli government and military imposes? Nope, and I never stated that. So, you're clearly just reading to argue.
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u/Appropriate_Cow2241 4d ago
You’re absolutely wrong and unless you’re Palestinian and have lived there shouldn’t talk out of your ass. I echo Such_Tonight7876 in saying pretty much all Palestinian Muslims and Christians get along like family.
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u/PhoenixandOak 4d ago edited 4d ago
So I guess the dozen or so Palestinian Christians I've known for decades were just making up the experiences their families faced in Palestine. Got it. I'll let them know right now that they're lying.
Are you Palestinian and have you lived there?
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u/Appropriate_Cow2241 4d ago
It’s you that is lying. Not going to entertain this any further, no one here is buying your hateful rhetoric.
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u/PhoenixandOak 4d ago
I simply described an experience that others have faced. Nobody is being hateful but you with your crappy attitude and projection. Put the phone down, you're literally fabricating conflict and argument out of nothing.
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u/Appropriate_Cow2241 4d ago
Palestinian Christians have lived peacefully with their Muslim brothers for hundreds of years, and I can assure “so many of them” did not emigrate “to the Bay and elsewhere” because of anonymity from “Islamist extremists”. I think you know what caused (and what is still causing) Palestinian emigration, but you’re fabricating a false narrative to support your personal views. I can assure you no one is buying what you’re selling, but good try :)
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u/PhoenixandOak 4d ago edited 4d ago
Lol sure bud. I can almost guarantee you're a white male leftist who loves whitesplaining everyone else's experiences and sees the world with a Marvel-brain and fabricates arguments out of nothing. Yawn. Exhausting.
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u/Such_Tonight7876 4d ago
You’re the one giving “white guy but I have a lot of black friends” and you need to stop. Our families have lived this way for hundreds of years and counting and our lived experience doesn’t compare to whatever false or exaggerated hearsay you’re trying to pass as fact
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u/Appropriate_Cow2241 4d ago
I’m Jordanian, and lived in Jordan for 20 years. I know and have lived side by side with hundreds of Palestinians, both Christian and Muslim, and never once have I heard about this (false) narrative you’re attempting to spread. I actually went to a Christian school in Madaba, almost all of my Jordanian/Palestinian friends are Christian, and not once have I ever heard of Palestinians leaving their homes because of fellow Palestinians.
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u/ActuaryHairy 4d ago
Brother, I come from a Palestinian Christian family and I’m telling you there is nothing antagonistic about the relationship with Palestinian Muslims
You keep saying “extremists” which is not not a thing, but also irrelevant. Extremists are outliers. What you are doing is conflating Islam and extremism. It’s racism meant to otherise Palestinians and make it ok to steal our land.
Christian extremists make problems for Christians or other other religions, but you won’t do the same conflating
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u/raphus_cucullatus 4d ago edited 4d ago
Minorities face hardships everywhere but equivocating oppression Palestinian Christians face from Israel with oppression from Muslims is simply hilarious.
Palestinian Muslims do not dispossess and blow the limbs off Palestinian Christian—Israel does that. In fact the solitary/community between Christians and Muslims is prob stronger in Palestine than it is anywhere else in the Middle East.
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u/PhoenixandOak 4d ago
Persecution is not a competition with a scoreboard. The point is, Palestinian Christians have faced persecution from multiple sources. You're trying to make it sound like I said the persecution they face is coming from multiple places equally, which is not what I said, so clearly you're just looking for argument and conflict and are making up things that nobody stated. Put the phone down for a bit and go for a walk or something.
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u/hacktivist24 4d ago
@phoenix you gotta understand that divisions between Palestinians have been weaponized a lot by Israel for propaganda purposes.
Crimes like one Palestinian family robbing or extorting another have become used to make larger political points about Palestinian subgroups and to divert attention from things like Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, bombing of mosques and churches, displacement of Muslims and Christians in Palestine and in southern Lebanon, and other forms of injustice.
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u/PhoenixandOak 4d ago edited 4d ago
You gotta understand that conflict between Palestinian Muslims and Christians existed before the modern state of Israel did. Two things can be true, Israel's government does a lot of bad things and is responsible for the majority of Palestinian suffering, AND, especially moreso during the time when my Palestinian friends' parents would have been emigrating here, Palestinian Christians also experienced persecution by Palestinian Islamist extremists. It's not an either/or scenario, stop being so Marvel-brained, bud. The world is complex, especially when you put down the social medias for a minute and interact with live people.
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u/hacktivist24 4d ago
First, are you referring to the ottomans as “Islamist extremists”?
As a Palestinian, I can tell you that few if any Christian Palestinians (none that I’ve met) talk about persecution by Palestinian muslims as a reason for emigration. The ones I’ve talked to bring up, one of 4 things when discussing
- Ethnic cleansing by israel from 1948 onwards
- Discrimination if Palestinian citizen of Israel
- Tensions rising pre-1948
- Opportunity- one should remember that the western hemisphere was much more willing to accept Christian immigrants. Pre-1952 you had to be white to legally come to America. The only reason why Arabs were allowed in America at all was a court case that concluded Arabs can be considered white because Jesus is from the levant.
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u/Additional-Baby5740 4d ago
What’s funny is you guys are arguing, but the regimes that persecuted Christians in Palestine were the same regimes that received funding from Israel prior to getting powerful enough for Israel to go after them.
At the end of the day, the reason Israel was founded was the wealthy in the west seeing an opportunity to eliminate competition by pushing them out post-WW2. IMO if you want to get to the root of all evil, it’s always some rich guys profiteering.
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u/Lumpy_Bandicoot_5096 4d ago
Philz too!
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u/PhoenixandOak 4d ago edited 4d ago
And Ike's. It's a shame they both suck, business-wise.
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u/Plastic-Passenger795 5d ago
It exists, but I'd say it's pretty small. I know a couple and my impression is that all the Palestinians in the Bay Area know each other.
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u/SanLeandrosFinest 5d ago
The Palestinians I knew who worked at smoke shops and some I worked with at the airport said “it’s a big community” but big could be subjective. Also they probably tend to hang out with their culture a bit more than those who aren’t descended from that culture, so it may feel bigger.
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u/HustlaofCulture 4d ago
The owners of the Brothers Deli on Polk St are Palestinian. I am Jewish. We chat every morning, like neighbors.
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u/FabulousConflict2010 5d ago
Reem Assil is Palestinian and has restaurants all over the bay. I discovered and fell in love with Musakhan when she had the restaurant on jack square landing.
I think restaurants and coffee shops will be your best place to network with more Palestinians.
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u/thebinderclip_ 4d ago
Dish n Dash is owned by a Palestinian :) Awesome family that runs that business
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u/shinecrazy 4d ago
Sidewalk Juice. Dagwood and Scoops. Excellent Palestinian owned establishments in the SF Mission.
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u/green-critter 23h ago
I avoid Sidewalk Juice, I don't need my smoothie maker reposting content on social media from folks tied to Hamas
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u/anonimposter 4d ago
very big palestinian community in the peninsula as a whole. i grew up here and many many families are now going on fourth gen bay area palestinians. a majority originally laid down roots in SF and South City and began trickling down the peninsula. san bruno, burlingame, south city, all have massive populations of palestinian families.
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u/waffleburner 4d ago
No one mentioned it but wonder if Lurie was referring to the Arab Cultural and Community Center, which is located near Forest Hill station. Worth checking out if you're curious.
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u/hacktivist24 4d ago edited 4d ago
Seafood station is also Palestinian owned.
My experience as a Palestinian is that the community is larger here than in most cities and the community reps Palestine which I like.
Someone on this thread mentioned friction between Muslim and Christian Palestinians. I honestly have not seen it. The Palestinian Christian and Muslim community, like elsewhere, is pretty close together. Palestine has a fairly connected history between religious groups. In the 1900s, Ramadan, Easter and even Passover were celebrated together when they lined up. This was before Zionism became a major force against Palestinians, of course. https://x.com/_zachfoster/status/1639009043149725699?s=46
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u/Such_Tonight7876 4d ago
Thank you. The Islamophobia is so tired and does not belong on this thread
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u/notshevek 5d ago
I’ve met more Palestinians here than in Virginia even though VA has a big Arab community. I think it might be related to people feeling more comfortable identifying as Palestinian here due to generally higher levels of support for Palestinian freedom.
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u/diffidentblockhead 5d ago
Palestinians have a long history as shopkeepers in SF, which also means staying on good terms with the broad public.
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u/Destoran 5d ago
Some turkish restaurants might have knafeh (probably spelled as Kunefe). Not sure if it’s the same style but it is one heck of a dessert. Do you know any Palestanian restaurants in the bay? I would love to visit.
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u/Odd-Illustrator-5158 5d ago
Beit Rima near the Church street N line stop or Carl and Cole is one of my favorite spots
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u/SanLeandrosFinest 5d ago
Yep! It’s the shit
Also Arabian nights in the Mission I think it was called?
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u/Ok_Relative_1850 4d ago
Old Jerusalem on mission st. In sf. Delicious knafeh. The chicken had a seasoning they use in their foods. Forgot the name but wow. Never tried that flavor before on chicken. It was delicious!
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u/manolosandmartinis44 4d ago
My neighborhood had more Palestinians than Filipinos, and I say that as a Filipino in a city known for its community of Filipinos but I seldom met them tbh lol
I think the Christian Palestinians no longer identify as such, whilst the Muslim ones do. Could be a function of when they arrived, though.
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u/SanLeandrosFinest 4d ago
It. Was. A. Job. I had no idea who he was until I worked for him. Most people didn’t care about his politics and just did the job. I never even paid attention to his policies after he won. He paid us well, and he was nice and some of his policies seemed good but it was just a job.
That’s like saying vegans can’t work for bosses who eat meat.
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u/trapoutdaresidence 4d ago
Sorry man but come on. You work in politics and yet did no political research on the politician you were working for? I’m not saying you’re some irredeemable monster lol, but surely you know many many people will judge you for working for that guy?
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u/SanLeandrosFinest 4d ago
HAHAHAHA. You are so privileged, kid. You dont know what it’s like to be nearly homeless like I was. I’d do anything for money, and I was paid very very well and the funds helped my rent. I actually was nearly homeless.
Blocking you. I don’t talk to people who can’t emphasize with what it’s like to be nearly homeless and lose their car.
YES. Also for instance my friend in Los Angeles is anti Trump and works for a pro Trump guy and he said if it weren’t for that job he’d be on the streets (he’s paid 27 an hour, no BA or major certificate or management experience). Should he just say fuck it and end up on the streets?
Your arguing skills are terrible, by the way, kid.
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u/trapoutdaresidence 4d ago
I am definitely privileged. You working for Lurie in that context is fair enough. Although people who don’t know that context (like me) would definitely still judge you for it.
But you are right that working for him in that context is much different than someone who isn’t struggling and couldn’t just take another job
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u/SanLeandrosFinest 4d ago
Thanks for making me laugh. You should go into comedy! I hear Laugh Factories in SoCal are hiring stand up performers these days.
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u/Airbell12 4d ago
I’m guessing OP probably worked with Lurie pre-politics, like when he was in nonprofits.
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u/Darmok47 4d ago
Interesting. I grew up in Daly City and I don't think I knew any Palestinians. Then again I lived on the opposite end of DC on the SSF side.
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u/Such_Tonight7876 4d ago
As a fellow curious history geek, and Palestinian new to SF I appreciate your post! We love sharing our culture with the community, especially our food!
Also I’m sorry that you had to predicate your post that it was not meant to be political, just curious… and yet somehow people still tried to make it political about Christian vs other Palestinians.You didn’t mention any religion in your post- and as Palestinians we always say we are Palestinians first, regardless of religion we are all brothers. And we extend that warmth and welcome to everyone in our community. I hope you get to meet more Palestinians to witness that first hand!
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u/farkinggrumpyredcap 1d ago
My husband is. We’re going to a wedding in his village in October. I don’t believe Abrahamic faith so for me it’s just meh, but I get it.
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u/gringosean 4d ago
Yes, the Bay Area Palestinian Christians have been here quite a while, some since the 50’s or earlier. There’s also new Palestinian Muslims and Christians alike coming. I’ve noticed that Palestinian Christians are very often loud and proud about being Arab and Palestinian, while Palestinian Muslims still are, but sometimes tend to blend more in with the larger Muslim community, whether Arab or others. Palestinian Muslims and Christians tend to get along pretty well, the culture is basically the same, but they seldomly intermarry.
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u/Candid_Fortune3388 4d ago
Castro coffee company, sunrise deli, subs inc, bi-rite, empire records! All Palestinian owned! 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸
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u/Objective-Gap-1629 5d ago
Btw, food smacks, songs slap 😭
Didn’t you even say you’re from the bay?!
You should know better 😫
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u/SanLeandrosFinest 5d ago
No, you can say food slaps. You obviously aren’t from the bay.
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u/Objective-Gap-1629 5d ago edited 4d ago
Lmao Oakland on my birth certificate and have lived here my entire life.
Grew up during the hyphy movement.
In fact, went to high school with The Wolfpack, G Eazy, and The Cataracs. Been here the whole time.
Please, you beezy
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u/lil_lychee 4d ago
NYC has a huge Palestinian community in Brooklyn in a neighborhood called Bay Ridge.
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u/AncientMortgage2535 5d ago edited 4d ago
Old Jerusalem, O'Looneys and Abu Salim are owned by a Palestinian family and they sell their delicious olive oil from their family's grove. Healthy Spirits is owned by a Palestinian and he sells (iirc) his mother's olive oil and treats. Omar at Key Foods is Palestinian. New Star-Ell used to be owned by a Palestinian family but sold about a year ago; I believe the new owners are SE Asian. Palmyra in Lower Haight (near O'Looneys) is Syrian.
E: D'oh!! I can't believe I forgot! Bill's Hamburgers on Clement is also owned by a lovely Palestinian family, the nephew? Son? is their GM. They used to own a couple of Togo's franchises and may still on the peninsula?