Shock in Fürth: Pizzeria Zulu involved in anti-Semitism scandal!

Shock in Fürth: Pizzeria Zulu involved in anti-Semitism scandal!

An incident in Fürth caused quite a stir and led to a violent shitstorm on social media: The Pizzeria Zulu, which has established itself as one of the flagships of the Central Franconian gastronomy scene in recent years, found itself in the firing line after a notice announced the exclusion of Israeli citizens. Gaspare Squitieri, the owner of the pizzeria, emphasizes that it was never his intention to act in an anti-Semitic manner. He just wanted to start a discussion, but regrets the misleading wording on the note.

The note in question, which according to reports from the taz began with a harmless message, ended with the clear sentence: “Israeli citizens are not welcome in this restaurant.” This sentence was understood by many as blatant and unacceptable discrimination and promptly led to significant negative reactions. The notice was removed just two to three hours after it was published, and the Israeli embassy in Germany described the incident as “clear anti-Semitism.” The Israelite Community of Fürth also reacted promptly and filed charges of incitement to hatred and discrimination.

Reputation and loss of reputation

The Pizzeria Zulu enjoys an excellent reputation not only in Germany but also internationally and has received numerous awards, including the award as “best pizzeria of German origin” and a place among the top 10 in Europe. But the notice severely damaged this good name. Former guests expressed their disappointment and announced that they would no longer visit the restaurant. The incident could not only have legal consequences for the establishment, but also result in the loss of regular customers and negative brand perception, as reported by fuerthaktuell.de is called.

The incident comes against the backdrop of an alarming rise in anti-Semitism in Germany. Anti-Semitism Commissioner Felix Klein has already pointed out that hatred of Jews in Germany has reached a level not seen in decades. After the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, the number of anti-Semitic crimes increased enormously: over 2,600 crimes have been registered since then, primarily in connection with anti-Israel demonstrations, as in a report by the Deutschlandfunks is to be read.

Reactions and the way forward

The reactions to the incident in Fürth are varied. Daniela Eisenstein, director of the Jewish Museum in Fürth, said that this is the first incident of its kind in Fürth and plans to offer workshops on the topic of anti-Semitism. Such initiatives are absolutely necessary to raise awareness about this issue. The operator concerned, Gaspare Squitieri, has already announced that he wants to get in touch with representatives of the Jewish community in order to take part in an anti-Semitism workshop.

Therefore, both the local and the affected citizens are faced with the challenge of learning and growing from these incidents. Time for reflection and concrete steps is required in order to restore the broken trust and to continue the discussion about anti-Semitism in Germany not only at the kitchen table, but also in public forums.