The town of Kaikoura is about an hour and a half’s drive down the state highway from the town of Blenheim, in New Zealand’s South Island; and it’s notable for whale watch adventures. An article in a local newspaper reports that the proprietor of the Strawberry Tree bar and cafe in Kaikoura put up a sign outside his business saying Israelis were not welcome.
This comes in the wake of the recent uproar over the decision by a Muslim proprietor of a similar business in Invercargill, in New Zealand’s South Island, not to serve a couple of the “chosen ones” in his establishment, because of Nazisrael’s war crimes and atrocities against children with weapons like white phosphorus shells, in Operation Cast Lead in Ghetto Gaza.
This is a New Zealand Herald article on the two incidents …
Tourists asked to boycott NZ over anti-Israel sign
8:33AM Monday Jan 19, 2009
Mustafa and Joanne Tekinkaya are making a personal protest. Photo / David Russell
Israelis are calling on tourists to boycott New Zealand after a second cafe owner said Israeli nationals were not welcome.
The owner of Invercargill’s Mevlana Cafe caused a stir last week after refusing to serve two Israeli customers as a protest against Israel’s bombing of Gaza.
Now Kaikoura cafe Strawberry Tree has put up a sign saying Israeli customers were not welcome.
Other Kaikoura business owners posted signs saying diners of any nationality were welcome.
Strawberry Tree owner Shane Cavanagh said while he would not ask Israelis to leave they were not welcome in his restaurant.
The sign was taken down last week and replaced by a death toll from the latest conflict, which has killed more than 1200 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.
Kaikoura Mayor Kevin Heays told the Dominion Post he was “extremely upset and angry” with the sign and leading Israeli website ynetnews.com had been inundated with messages calling for Israeli tourists to boycott New Zealand.
One message included the Strawberry Tree’s address and phone number with the message: “Please call the owner and say `Hi from Israel’,” the newspaper reported.
Mr Heays posted his own comment on the site, promising to “closely scrutinise” the bar owner’s licence.
“I am taking legal and police steps to have the sign removed and I will be looking into making a complaint to the Human Rights Commission.”
Mr Heays said he posted an apology to show the protest did not reflect the general view of the community.
“I’ve yet to speak to anyone who is in support of the public stand that he’s making,” he said.
An article from Shane Kavanagh, proprietor of Strawberry Tree cafe and bar in Kaikoura, appeared in a local newspaper in the town of Blenheim, January, 31, 2009, and was titled “Stand up for your beliefs, make change”, and reads as follows …
“Having spent years travelling the world, photographing and speaking with people from all walks of life, I strongly advocate everyone to stand up for their beliefs.
Making a stand is the only way society’s victims will ever achieve justice.
It is wrong to say it is not our concern. Although New Zealand is geographically isolated from the troubles in the world, it does not mean apathy has a place here. We cannot bury our heads in the sand when we see others suffering such injustice.
We are fortunate to have a society of free speech. We are fortunate also to live in a nation without enemies. We are certainly lucky that our neighbours are not shelling our communities and killing our children.
People may not like discrimination against a whole race but at least by doing such a thing people are sitting up and taking notice. Mass genocide and crimes against humanity are very real and compelling reasons to protest.
No nation should be forced to watch schools and hospitals bombed, neither should innocent civilians including women and children be rounded up and murdered.
We are one world; one people. Absolutely everyone deserves the right to a degree of security.
Striking terror into the hearts of civilian families is not only morally reprehensible but it would seem likely that Israel has done so by using illegal ammunitions, including white phosphorus shells. This action in itself amounts to war crime.
I believe in free speech and in peace for the innocent residents of Gaza.
The reason I have used the pub’s chalkboard for political comment is to educate anyone who still believes it is right to ignore what is happening in the world.
To those who don’t care what is happening in Palestine: put yourselves in the shoes of a mother or child who is being terrorized by armed militants equipped to carry out wide-scale devastation.
Put yourself in the shoes of someone in a refugee camp for 50 years. Then say it is nothing to do with you.
We should all stand up for what we feel strongly about – it is our duty. Maybe bullying terrorist nations could then be brought to account …”‘
Good one Shane!
