Paddington – An acclaimed restaurant in the heart of an upmarket Brisbane suburb has been smeared by an anti-Israel campaign, with someone accusing the owners of “burying Palestinians” and “selling their food off” as their own.
The owners of Yababa, on Paddington’s Baroona Road, have been targeted with hateful online messages about their business, as well as vulgar graffiti on the footpath at the entrance.
Outside the highly rated restaurant, someone wrote: “Stolen Palestinian food. Zionists. Fuck off.”
On Instagram, someone posted a photo of Yababa’s menu, adding: “What, stolen and soaked in blood? Sounds tempting.”
The post also said there was “no such thing as Israeli food, and claimed the restaurant had stolen Palestinian culture.
“You bury Palestinians then sell their food off as your own. You are not welcome,” it said.
In New Zealand, a report by the local human rights group Humanity Matters found 65% of New Zealand Jews said that they have experienced antisemitism on social media in the last three years.
More than half (52%) said that they encountered antisemitic misinformation or disinformation online that was either directly related to Israel or to anti-Zionism during the last 12 months.
The next highest type of antisemitism was due to “financial” reasons, alluding to the antisemitic trope that claims Jewish people control international finance, or that Jewish people are “good with money.” More than a quarter (27%) of the respondents said they encountered this kind of antisemitism online during the last 12 months.
