Pro-Palestine Kashmiri Shopkeepers hauled for anti-Zionist stance in Kerala

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By Syed Ali Mujtaba, Edited By TIO Bureau, The India Observer, TIO: A purported video is doing rounds on the internet where a Kashmiri handicraft shop owner had a verbal duel with the Israeli tourist, for his pro-Palestine and anti- Zionist instance.  The incident occurred at the Crafts shop in the tourist town of Thekkady, bordering Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Israeli tourists, Ms. Valfar, and her husband went to the Incredible Handicraft store in the Kumily area in Thekkady.  The couple chose fabric for clothing and asked for billing for the purchase.

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The couple conversed in Hebrew which made the store owner, Ahammed Rather, inquire about her nationality. When the lady disclosed that they were from Israel, the shopkeeper yelled at her asking them to leave the shop and turning off the lights, saying “he would never sell anything to an Israeli.”

The tourists alerted their driver about the incident, who then called the local shopkeepers and they called the head of the merchant association and questioned the Kashmiri duo for their actions.

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The merchant association president Manoj Karimuttam said; “Merchants in Thekkady are obligated to serve all tourists and such behavior is detrimental to the tourism sector in Thekkady.”

Following this, the Kashmiri vendors apologized to the couple. “I made a mistake, I am sorry for not selling you the products,” the Kashmiri shopkeeper told the tourists.

A video documenting the incident and the subsequent apology has gone viral on social media platforms.

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In the video, the Israeli man can be heard saying to the locals that the Kashmiri man insulted his wife and told her that she could not go inside the shop because she is an Israeli.

The Kashmiri shopkeepers apologized to the woman and told her they respected her. Meanwhile, the woman’s husband told the shop owners that if this happened again they would go to the police and complain to the police about the shop.

“I will go to the police and complain about the shop. Do you want your shop to be closed? Even if you are Muslim and I am Jewish I did not do anything to you. This is not the Indian way.

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Be a proper Indian and respect everyone irrespective of their religion,” the Jewish man the shopkeeper in the video. The woman was heard speaking about Indian values and respect for every religion.

Meanwhile, the Circle Inspector Sujith PS who arrived at the trouble spot said that the Israeli tourists declined to pursue legal action but he directed the shop to remain closed for a few days considering the local law-and-order situation.

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Curated and Compiled by Humra Kidwai

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