Transplanted east coasters in Albuquerque, New Mexico have been “jonesing” for a Jewish deli. Their wishes were answered last August, when the Nosh Deli opened in the Nob Hill district, at Amherst Drive and Silver Avenue, downtown Albuquerque.
The Nosh Deli serves such Jewish staples as challah french toast, pastrami on rye, Dr. Brown’s sodas (albeit in a can) and chocolate babka. Selections can be made from the menus hanging on the wall.
Most of the native ABQers know about such delicacies from episodes of the long-running comedy series “Seinfeld.”
But someone is not happy about having a Jewish deli in the neighborhood.
For the second time in two weeks, the Nosh Deli was targeted by antisemitic vandalism.
Mailing labels with anti-Semitic messages written on them were stuck to the front door of Nosh Deli on Saturday, KOB Eyewitness News 4 in Albuquerque reported.
On Sunday, the stickers were plastered on the restaurant door and up and down a full city block, on parking meters and street light poles.
Similar labels and messages, including “To the Kikes who should die,” were found on the front door of the deli late last month.
“People are just disgusted,” said deli owner Alisa Turtletaub. “They’re disgusted that this is happening.”
“Don’t hide behind a postal sticker,” she said. “If you have such a problem, then show your face.”
The FBI is investigating the incidents, according to KOB, and a hotline has been set up: 505-889-1300, for anyone with information about who might be posting the ugly messages. In the meantime, many of the stickers have been taken into the crime lab and dusted for fingerprints.
“It’s not random, because it keeps happening,” owner Alisa Turtletaub told the news channel. She said, “I’m not going to be a victim,” but she did refer to the incidents as “a little unsettling.”
Turtletaub does not seem to be someone who will be scared away. And in the meantime, anyone looking for a good pastrami on rye or handmade rugelach and a chocolate egg cream can still have their appetites sated at the Nosh Deli.