Utah is investigating a cidery that declared 'No Zionists Allowed'

• Published date: 08 March 2024
• Author: ANDREW LAPIN/JTA
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Michael Valentine, owner of Six Sailor Cider and Weathered Waves Bar, also targeted a local Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi and kosher food truck operator who publicly criticized the business owner's stance

"As many are, we are horrified by the ongoing genocide in Gaza and are even more horrified to see so many Americans ignore and rationalize ethnic cleansing," the businesses announced in an Instagram post-Monday headlined "No Zionists Allowed." "That is why we are pleased to announce we are banning all zionists forever from our establishments."

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services told JTA that it has contacted the Utah Attorney General's office "so they may conduct an investigation on whether the business is violating discrimination laws."

Antisemitsim vs anti-Zionsim

The department also said it was reviewing its own options "for responding to discrimination" at its licensed establishments. It is unclear if Zionists would be considered a protected class under discrimination law. The bar claimed it was not banning Jews, a distinction many Jewish groups brush aside, positing that bigots have long used "Zionist" as a stand-in for "Jewish" and pointing to surveys showing that a majority of American Jews express an affinity for Israel.

The dispute in Utah comes as the local City Council passed new restrictions on public comment, shortening the time allotted to it, largely in response to anti-Israel activism that took center stage during a recent council deliberation about a ceasefire resolution. Progressive spaces and activists across North America have targeted Jewish- or Israeli-owned businesses and establishments in protest of the war in Gaza.

In its Instagram post, Six Sailor Cider writes that "Zionism is hate speech. It is white supremacy and has nothing to do with the beautiful Jewish faith. we forever stand firmly with the people of Gaza and humanity." The post ended, "We dream of a free and prosperous Palestine. Ceasefire Now."

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the businesses had just been awarded a liquor license last week. Valentine, a former independent mayoral candidate, told the paper he wrote the post and that he did not believe it was antisemitic. He did not respond to a JTA request for comment Wednesday.

Rabbi Avremi Zippel, whose Yalla Kosher food truck operates about a 15-minute drive from the bar, was not named in the initial post. But he said Jews and supporters throughout the community pressured...