UA couple of Israeli tourists report being kicked out of a restaurant in the heart of Naples' historic center "just because they were Israeli."
The story exploded yesterday and quickly made the rounds on social media, after the publication of a video showing a heated discussion inside the “Taverna a Santa Chiara”, a venue that adheres to the campaign “Spaces free from Israeli apartheid”.
The video shows the owner, Nives Monda, asking her family to leave the premises amid protests from other customers.
According to the couple, the situation escalated at the end of the meal, when they spoke to another table and said they were Israelis and praised their country. “You hate Jews,” accuses tourist Gilli Moses in the video. The owner replies, “Yes, I am very proud of that,” a phrase that sparked controversy and outrage online.
Contacted in the evening by several journalists from online newspapers, the restaurateur rejected the accusations of anti-Semitism: “There were two Israelis. The others were French. It’s not a restaurant, it’s a place of solidarity,” she explains. And she adds that she herself was accused of being a “supporter of terrorists.”
On her social media profile, the owner later reconstructed the episode, claiming that she had merely explained her support for the campaign against apartheid in Palestine, sparking an indignant reaction from the two tourists, who filmed the whole thing and threatened to sue her.
“It was a shameful episode,” the Israeli tourist said, announcing that she is considering filing a formal complaint. “We never thought we would have an experience like this in Naples, a city that for us represented welcome and freedom.”
The video, in the meantime, has sparked mixed reactions on social media: some accuse the restaurateur of anti-Semitism, while others defend her right to join political campaigns. The case now risks widening, becoming a delicate front between freedom of expression, tourist reception, and international tensions.
Article published on May 4, 2025 - 06:54 pm
It is a very complicated and difficult situation to manage. Restaurants should be welcoming spaces for everyone and should not discriminate against anyone. However, it is also important to respect everyone's political opinions. I don't know how to behave properly.