ISRAELIS, LEBANESE LEAVE TENSIONS AT THIS RESTAURANT'S DOOR.

Byline: CONNIE LLANOS Special to the Daily News

SHERMAN OAKS -- Perhaps the United Nations should take notes on conflict resolution from one Sherman Oaks restaurateur.

Nabil Halaby, co-owner of the Lebanese restaurant Carnival, for more than 22 years has successfully served customers who include both Israelis and Arabs.

As Israeli waitress Shirley Strausmann put it: ``We've created our own Middle East here.''

``It doesn't matter if you're Muslim or Lebanese or whatever, we leave our conflicts at the door,'' she said.

Halaby's success was apparent Saturday when hugs and double-cheek kisses from customers and employees greeted his return from 1 1/2 weeks trapped in war-torn Lebanon.

He was on his way to a family reunion with a guest list of more than 150 when he landed in Lebanon on July 5. One week later the bombing began.

Halaby was in a predominantly Druze area of the country, not in southern Lebanon where most of the destruction has occurred. But explosions still awakened him at night.

``It's a sound you never want to hear,'' Halaby said.

It took Halaby nearly a week to figure out how to get home. The trip took a boat ride to Cyprus, a cruise ship to Rome, plus a flight with a stop in Philadelphia.

An end to the destruction needs to come soon, Halaby said.

``Enough is enough,'' he said. ``These kids will not have any schools to go to next year. Businesses and homes are destroyed, and it will take a long time for all that to come back.''

While the conflict has leaked into Southern California, spurring Muslims and Israelis to organize protests denouncing their opposition, the Sherman Oaks eatery remains untouched by tensions.

Inside Carnival, racks of Israeli newspapers sit alongside Lebanese publications, just like the people who fill the restaurant.

Janet Mefrige, a second-generation customer of Lebanese and Syrian descent, lives in Texas but makes a stop at Carnival every time she visits home. That Israelis are customers as well has never been a problem for her, she said.

``My family and I have been coming here since forever,'' Mefrige said.

North Hollywood resident Al Gardner said he's eaten at the restaurant since it opened.

``You couldn't ask for better hosts,'' he said. ``It doesn't matter who you are.''

As he returned Saturday to his restaurant duties, Halaby was greeted with an embrace by yet another concerned customer, Naftali Sauerbrun.

An Israeli, Sauerbrun is not only a longtime customer, but their children played on the same soccer team.

``How was it?'' Sauerbrun asked Halaby with a concerned look in his eye.

``How good could it be?'' Halaby said in response.

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Photo:

Carnival restaurant owner Nabil Halaby, talking on the phone about his experience in Lebanon, is back at his Sherman Oaks restaurant after returning on Thursday.

Dean Musgrove/Staff Photographer