Restaurant owner Kimberly Hawkins stuck up the Palestinian flag and the words “I love Gaza” in her restaurant window and then posted the following to her Instagram account…
“Open Now – 8 PM for non-racist shoppers #Bloordale #Bloorstreet, #Toronto, #Open, #ftp [fuck the police] #FreePalestine and #ZionistsNotWelcome.”
Kimberley’s small Toronto restaurant, Foodbenders, is known for it’s support of indigenous rights, Black Lives Matter and other social justice causes but now it finds itself targeted by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and the violent, far-right, Jewish Defence League (JDL).
The CIJA have engaged in a negative social media campaign against the restaurant and targeted their delivery services, institutional customers, website host and social media accounts. They’ve even managed to get the prime minister, premier of Ontario, mayor of Toronto and numerous other politicians to denounce this tiny little restaurant and they have even reported them to the Ontario Human Rights Commission. CIJA allies have also tried to get the restaurant’s business license revoked.
Members of the Jewish Defence League have also organised a number of protests outside the restaurant wearing, what looks like, biker gang jackets and waving the Israeli flag.
Protesters also daubed the Israeli flag and the star of David on the restaurant window.
Kimberley has also been targeted on social media. She’s been called a “dirty Palestinian whore” and told “I will burn your business down” and “I hope your family gets trapped inside the restaurant when it burns.”
Why should Israel or the pro-Israel lobby feel so threatened by one woman, her instagram acccount and her small little Ontario restaurant to feel they have to literally throw everything they’ve got at her? Surely her actions are not enough to de-legitimize the entire state of Israel and how insecure do you have to be to believe that?
