A pizza store in Fürth, Germany, has caused outrage by banning all Israeli customers in protest against the war in the Gaza Strip, local media reported Wednesday.
The local Jewish community in the southeastern state of Bavaria denounced the move as a throwback to the antisemitism of Nazi Germany, while the Israeli Embassy in Berlin also said it showed a return to the 1930s.
The owner of the store, identified by Israel’s Ynet outlet as Pizza Zulu, confirmed to the media that he had put up a poster banning Israelis, but insisted it was not intended to be antisemitic.
An image of the poster, which was displayed in the entrance to the store, was circulated on social media.
“We believe that the children of this world should not be harmed under any circumstances,” it read. “We are part of civil society and will therefore not stand idly by like the rest of the world. That is why we have decided to protest. Our protest has no political, let alone racist, character.”
“Israeli citizens are not welcome in this establishment,” it continued. “Of course, they will be welcome again as soon as they decide to open their eyes, ears, and hearts.”
“Such exclusion is simply shameful and horrific,” chairwoman of the Jewish Community of Fürth, Julia Tschekalina, told the dpa news agency.
She said it was antisemitism reminiscent of Nazi Germany in 1933.
“That’s how it started back then, too,” Tschekalina noted.
Tschekalina said that while it is fair to criticize the Israeli government over the military action in Gaza, as do some Israelis themselves, the poster was excluding an entire people.
She said she would contact the Bavarian antisemitism commissioner, Ludwig Spaenle, about the matter.
The owner admitted to dpa that he put up the poster, but claimed it was not antisemitic and did not include any insults. He said it was removed after two or three hours.
Speaking to the BR outlet, the owner said the wording was “unfortunate.” He said he was shocked at the response to the poster, which led to the cancellation of several bookings. The owner said he is seeking legal advice about the matter.
According to BR, the local Jewish community filed a complaint with the police.
The Israeli Embassy in Berlin said in a statement: “The 1930s are back, this time in Fürth. This is neither a protest nor a misunderstanding. This is crystal-clear antisemitism. That’s how it started back then: step by step, sign by sign.”
It urged that “police, prosecutors, and courts must take action. Jewish life must be safe and visible in Germany – everywhere, at all times.”
Meanwhile, Spaenle, the antisemitism commissioner, in a statement, reported that the same day, a music shop in Upper Bavaria demanded that an Israeli orchestra “assess the situation in the Gaza Strip” before it could rent an amplifier.
“It’s unimaginable,” Spaenle said and added that by its actions, the music store was supporting the boycott movement against Israel.
“This is a form of antisemitism,” he declared.
Last week a store in Flensburg banned Jews, with a sign saying the owner “can’t stand you.” The poster drew outrage from locals and officials and was compared to messages seen on German streets during the Third Reich.
A day earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that criticism of Israel was increasingly being used in Germany as a pretext for stoking hatred against Jews, noting that antisemitism had “become louder, more open, more brazen, more violent almost every day” since the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, 2023, that ignited the Gaza war.