Here Comes the Nazis

German Pizzeria Bans Israelis: "The 1930s Are Back," Says Israeli Embassy.

A pizzeria in Fürth, Germany faces backlash after banning Israeli customers, drawing condemnation from Jewish leaders and comparisons to 1930s Nazi-era discrimination.

Lara Sukster Mosheyof

SEP 25, 2025 14:33

2 min read

Israeli Embassy in Germany has drawn a stark comparison to the Nazi era, stating that "the 1930s are back," after a pizzeria in the German city of Fürth banned Israeli customers. The incident has ignited a firestorm of condemnation from Jewish community leaders and officials.

The restaurant, identified as Pizza Zulu, displayed a poster at its entrance that declared, "Israeli citizens are not welcome in this establishment." The sign claimed the protest was not political or racist, but a stand against harm to children. "We will accept them again as soon as they decide to open their eyes, ears, and hearts," the message concluded.

The chairwoman of the Jewish Community of Fürth, Julia Tschekalina, told the dpa news agency the exclusion was "shameful and horrific," drawing a direct parallel to the antisemitism of Nazi Germany. "That's how it started back then, too," she said.

The Israeli Embassy in Berlin echoed this sentiment in a statement on X, calling the sign "crystal-clear antisemitism" and urging German police and prosecutors to take action.

The owner of Pizza Zulu told local media that the poster was removed after just a few hours and that the wording was "unfortunate." However, the local Jewish community has filed a police complaint.

This incident is not an isolated one. The Bavarian antisemitism commissioner, Ludwig Spaenle, reported that on the same day, a music store in Upper Bavaria refused to rent equipment to an Israeli orchestra until it "assess[ed] the situation in the Gaza Strip." Spaenle condemned the music store's actions as a form of antisemitism.

The controversy comes just a week after another German store was condemned for posting a sign that read "Jews not welcome." The incidents follow a recent warning from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that criticism of Israel is increasingly being used as a pretext for hatred against Jews in Germany.

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