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Two Israeli women were refused service at an Invercargill cafe this week when the Muslim owner discovered where they were from.
Sisters Natalie Bennie and Tamara Shefa Mevlana say cafe owner Turk Mustafa Tekinkaya asked them to leave before they had even ordered.
"He heard us speaking Hebrew and he asked us where we were from. I said Israel and he said 'get out, I am not serving you'. It was shocking," Bennie told The Southland Times.
Tekinkaya told the paper he was making his own protest against Israel because of its role in the death and destruction in the Gaza Strip.
"I have decided as a protest not to serve Israelis until the war stops," he says.
The neighbouring owner of a Turkish kebab shop says he was taking the same stance.
Bennie says she does not disagree that Israel is committing crimes against children in Gaza but is not happy with Tekinkaya's approach to the situation.
The incident has also shocked Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt.
"Oh my god, the Gaza Strip has come to Invercargill. Hell's bells," he says.
Shadbolt says while everyone had a right to protest, he sympathises with the women.
Meanwhile, claims by peace activist John Minto that a unit within the Israeli military is likely to be responsible for attacking New Zealand websites protesting the war in Gaza have been dismissed by the Israeli Embassy in Canberra.
Minto says the Global Peace and Justice website has been down for the past few days, along with several other websites which contain material attacking and organising against the Israel military's attacks on Gaza.
The local sites include John Minto's www.johnminto.org.nz with articles on Gaza.
A Peace Movement Aotearoa newsletter has also been affected and Facebook pages of local supporters have been removed, Minto says.
He says groups overseas have had similar experiences, with the London-based anti-war website attacked last week.
"This is most likely the work of a dedicated unit within the Israeli military which monitors and does its best to close down sites which are effective in organising opposition to Israeli policies," Minto says.
A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in Canberra has labelled Minto's claims as "nonsense", Radio New Zealand reports.
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Post new commentfarhatmirza said on 2009-01-21 @ 09:43 NZDT: Report abusive post
Dear Sir/Madam, If and when the information is declassified, it may come out that the connection between 'shoe-treatment' of G.Bush in Iraq and, the carnage if not the genocide that followed in Ghaza, was not, after all, the figment of ones imagination. Regards, fjm
sheildzee said on 2009-01-20 @ 19:34 NZDT: Report abusive post
Please report accurately. Hamas did not "seize control of Gaza from Abbas's Fatah forces in 2007 ...". You rightly state that Hamas won the general election so Hamas did not "seize" anything. Your point about Fatah is superfluous anyway so just stick to the facts - " Hamas was elected by the Palestinian people in democratic elections held in 2006." That is the truth. The power struggle that followed the democratic election of Hama is another issue entirely.
flyer said on 2009-01-19 @ 16:50 NZDT: Report abusive post
Whew, a ceasefire of sorts - obviously the protest of the southland cafe owner against Israeli women has brought everyone to the negotiating table - AS IF.....
farhatmirza said on 2009-01-19 @ 11:42 NZDT: Report abusive post
Dear Sir/Madam, To say that Israel funded Hamas looks improbable, if not ridiculous. However, I won't be surprised if Hamas took a cue of two from Hagana, Irgun, or Lehi. Regards, fjm
philipmcc said on 2009-01-19 @ 10:01 NZDT: Report abusive post
I feel sad enough about the Gaza protagonists each claiming that they are the 'good guys' and the others are the 'bad guys', and the suffering that creates. But as I read these comments I see the same human tendency being acted out. So many claim that their view is 'right' and the others are 'wrong'. This stance is a major factor in all conflict. While that fear-based tendency persists we will go on having wars like Gaza.