A century ago, New York City was home to scores, if not hundreds, of kosher dairy restaurants, serving blintzes, smoked fish, and other traditional Ashkenazi fare. Although there are still several Jewish establishments that, observing the laws of kashrut, serve dairy products but no meat, there may be only one in the old model: B&H Kosher Dairy, which has been open in Manhattan’s Lower East Side since 1938. Hallel Yadin writes:

The restaurant’s owners are committed to preserving this history. According to Fawzy Abdelwahed, B&H co-owner with wife Ola, “I bought B&H twenty years ago to preserve and honor not only the restaurant’s menu as one of the last kosher lunch counters in New York City but also its history and, most importantly, our customers, many of whom have been regulars for generations.”

To non-Jews, these eateries had something of the exotic:

A positive review of Hammer’s Dairy Restaurant in a 1959 issue of local newspaper The Villager noted, “All of these foods make for a refreshing change of pace for the ordinary Yankee ‘meat and potatoes’ diet. They must be sampled to be appreciated as they are singular in preparation and taste.”

For more than a year, the Iran-backed Houthis have been launching drones and missiles at ships traversing the Red Sea, as well as at Israeli territory, in support of Hamas. This development has drastically curtailed shipping through the Suez Canal and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, driving up trade prices. This week, the Trump administration began an extensive bombing campaign against the Houthis in an effort to reopen that crucial waterway. Burcu Ozcelik highlights another benefit of this action:

The administration has a broader geopolitical agenda—one that includes countering China’s economic leverage, particularly Beijing’s reliance on Iranian oil. By targeting the Houthis, the United States is not only safeguarding vital shipping lanes but also exerting pressure on the Iran-China energy nexus, a key component of Beijing’s strategic posture in the region.

China was the primary destination for up to 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports in 2024, underscoring the deepening economic ties between Beijing and Tehran despite U.S. sanctions. By helping fill Iranian coffers, China aids Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in financing proxies like the Houthis. Since October of last year, notable U.S. Treasury announcements have revealed covert links between China and the Houthis.

Striking the Houthis could trigger broader repercussions—not least by disrupting the flow of Iranian oil to China. While difficult to confirm, it is conceivable and has been reported, that the Houthis may have received financial or other forms of compensation from China (such as Chinese-made military components) in exchange for allowing freedom of passage for China-affiliated vessels in the Red Sea.