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One of the Israeli sisters who was refused service at an Invercargill cafe has laid a complaint with the Human Rights Commission.
Sisters Natalie Bennie and Tamara Shefa Mevlana were asked to leave by cafe owner Mustafa Tekinkaya, a Turkish Muslim, as they waited to place an order yesterday.
"He heard us speaking Hebrew and he asked us where we were from. I said Israel and he said `get out, I am not serving you'. It was shocking," Mrs Bennie told The Southland Times.
Mr Tekinkaya told the paper he was making his own protest against Israel because of its role in the death and destruction in the Gaza Strip.
"I have decided as a protest not to serve Israelis until the war stops," he said.
Commission spokeswoman Kat Ryan told NZPA the complaint was laid by Mrs Bennie and the next step would be mediation.
Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres today said refusal to serve someone based on their nationality was a clear human rights breach.
"Whatever the rights and wrongs of the situation in Palestine, it is simply against the law for providers of goods and services in New Zealand to discriminate in this way," he said.
The commission did not have the power to punish or fine parties following an offence, Ms Ryan said.
However, if mediation broke down, the case could be submitted to the Office of Human Rights Proceedings, which provided legal representation for people seeking a hearing before the Human Rights Review Tribunal.
Debate among New Zealanders about the situation in the Gaza Strip, with demonstrations and protests supporting both the Palestinians and the Israelis, was the sign of a healthy democracy - and lawful - but the rights of people needed to be respected, Mr de Bres said.
- NZPA
