A taste of Apartheid
London BDS | 14.09.2011 09:27 | Other Press | Palestine
The Israel Government Tourist Office invited Londoners to visit the InterContinental
hotel's Cookbook Cafe and 'discover one of Israel's finest Hidden Gems': its
settler-colonial conquest of Palestine, overseasoned with cultural appropriation. At
the Taste of Israel week, diners could sample Arab cuisine and goods produced on
stolen Palestinian land. Most of the tables remained empty and the £20 a head buffet
untouched for the first day of this poorly attended event; blinds were hastily
lowered by staff to obscure placards held up against the Cafe windows by boycott
activists, reading "Food and wine of apartheid Israel" and "The bitter taste of
Israeli occupation".
hotel's Cookbook Cafe and 'discover one of Israel's finest Hidden Gems': its
settler-colonial conquest of Palestine, overseasoned with cultural appropriation. At
the Taste of Israel week, diners could sample Arab cuisine and goods produced on
stolen Palestinian land. Most of the tables remained empty and the £20 a head buffet
untouched for the first day of this poorly attended event; blinds were hastily
lowered by staff to obscure placards held up against the Cafe windows by boycott
activists, reading "Food and wine of apartheid Israel" and "The bitter taste of
Israeli occupation".
In a letter to the General Manager of the InterContinental, London, BDS activists
explained in advance that the 'assortment of fine Israeli wines' on offer was likely
to include wines produced in illegal Jewish settlements, which are in grave
violation of International Humanitarian Law. The recent report by the Israeli
research project, Who Profits, demonstrates that all of the major Israeli wineries
use grapes from occupied territory in their wines. They also warned the hotel that
the Israel Government Tourism Office (IGTO) had already fallen foul of advertising
standards in the UK twice in the last two years; in both cases the IGTO was found to
have breached CAP Code clause 7.1: 'Truthfulness'.
At the main entrance to the hotel, the four protesters handed out leaflets on the
Palestinian call to boycott Israel until it complies with international law, and
several guests gave them the 'thumbs up'. A Syrian family stopped to chat about the
boycott action and shared their disgust at the normalisation aspect of the Israeli
cultural event: "They want it to look as if they are giving out food, instead of
dropping bombs", no less offended by Israel's appropriation of Arab/Middle Eastern
cuisine, such as hummous, falafel, tabbouleh and pita bread. They added that in
their view, the Syrian regime was the best friend of Israel: "Not one bullet in 40
years and instead of fighting for the return of the Golan Heights, they are now
shooting their own people."
The fact that diners will have to eat Israeli and illegal settlement produce out of
sight of peaceful protesters - behind lowered blinds and flanked by a heavy security
presence - only underlines how shameful and undesirable this celebration of Israeli
apartheid and military occupation is at this historical juncture.
What you can do:
Contact the Cookbook Cafe/InterContinental to express your disgust of their
participation in this Zionist propaganda exercise:
Cookbook Cafe:
hello@cookbookcafe.co.uk (mailto: hello@cookbookcafe.co.uk) . Tel: 020
7318 8563
InterContinental: london@ihg.com (mailto: london@ihg.com) . Tel: 020 7409 3131
explained in advance that the 'assortment of fine Israeli wines' on offer was likely
to include wines produced in illegal Jewish settlements, which are in grave
violation of International Humanitarian Law. The recent report by the Israeli
research project, Who Profits, demonstrates that all of the major Israeli wineries
use grapes from occupied territory in their wines. They also warned the hotel that
the Israel Government Tourism Office (IGTO) had already fallen foul of advertising
standards in the UK twice in the last two years; in both cases the IGTO was found to
have breached CAP Code clause 7.1: 'Truthfulness'.
At the main entrance to the hotel, the four protesters handed out leaflets on the
Palestinian call to boycott Israel until it complies with international law, and
several guests gave them the 'thumbs up'. A Syrian family stopped to chat about the
boycott action and shared their disgust at the normalisation aspect of the Israeli
cultural event: "They want it to look as if they are giving out food, instead of
dropping bombs", no less offended by Israel's appropriation of Arab/Middle Eastern
cuisine, such as hummous, falafel, tabbouleh and pita bread. They added that in
their view, the Syrian regime was the best friend of Israel: "Not one bullet in 40
years and instead of fighting for the return of the Golan Heights, they are now
shooting their own people."
The fact that diners will have to eat Israeli and illegal settlement produce out of
sight of peaceful protesters - behind lowered blinds and flanked by a heavy security
presence - only underlines how shameful and undesirable this celebration of Israeli
apartheid and military occupation is at this historical juncture.
What you can do:
Contact the Cookbook Cafe/InterContinental to express your disgust of their
participation in this Zionist propaganda exercise:
Cookbook Cafe:
hello@cookbookcafe.co.uk (mailto: hello@cookbookcafe.co.uk) . Tel: 020 7318 8563
InterContinental:
london@ihg.com (mailto: london@ihg.com) . Tel: 020 7409 3131
London BDS
Homepage:
http://londonbds.org/2011/09/14/a-taste-of-apartheid/
