Indian business owners confront Kashmiri shopkeeper who booted out Israeli tourists

The shop owner apologized to the Israeli couple on camera, after being confronted by the local communtiy.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF NOVEMBER 16, 2024 08:22

A calendar with images of U.S. President Joe Biden and Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is hung inside a shop in Thulasendrapuram, the village where Harris' maternal grandfather was born, in the Southern state of Tamil Nadu, India November 5, 2024. (photo credit: REUTERS/FRANCIS MASCARENHAS)

Two Israeli tourists were kicked out of a shop in the town of Thakkadi in southern India on Wednesday after the shop’s Kashmiri owners realized they were from Israel, Ynet reported on Thursday. 

The couple from Israel had initially been invited into the store but were asked to leave upon the discovery of their nationality. After refusing to leave, the business owner reportedly turned off the shop’s lights and escalated the situation.

The pair were then driven to the local police station to file a report but news of the incident spread through the town, leading to nearby business owners confronting the store, demanding they apologize to the Israeli tourists.

A man decorates the shutter of his shop, near the temple of Hindu Lord Ram, on the eve of its opening, in Ayodhya, in India, January 21, 2024. (credit: Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

After receiving pressure from the local community, the owner of the store apologized to the Israeli couple on camera.

An Islamist shopkeeper in India threw a group of Israeli tourists out of his shop for being Jewish.A group of Hindus saw what happened and intervened. After a while the man apologized to the Israeli group.Via @THEREALJEW613 pic.twitter.com/F6dq6Dt0Jk

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) November 14, 2024

Legal response to the incident

Police said that they were aware of the incident, but the Israeli couple declined to file a complaint. No legal proceedings are expected.

Despite the issue seemingly having resolved itself, the Christian Association & Alliance For Social Action (CASA)  has begun campaigns for legal action, The New Indian Express reported on Friday.

“The police themselves should file a case against the culprits who have humiliated India’s friends and Israel’s children in Kumily,” one CASA notice read.

Another CASA notice demanded, “The government should take immediate action to save the tourism sector in Kerala from the grip of fundamentalists.”