Calls for Edinburgh cafe which displayed ‘Zionist free zone’ poster to be banned from food delivery app

It comes after locals condemned a poster in the window of Moski’s Sandwich and Juice Bar which says “declare Leith a Zionist free zone.”

The owners of the cafe, which is located on Great Junction Street in Leith, deny any accusations of discrimination.

Elad Simchayoff, a reporter for Israel's Channel 12 news , said the poster was reported to Police Scotland, but they do not deem it to be an offence.

Edinburgh locals condemned a poster in the window of Moski’s Sandwich and Juice Bar which says “declare Leith a Zionist free zone.” Photo: The Jewish Chronicle

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Simchayoff wrote: “I’m told the police were informed and deemed this is not a hate crime”.

Now, however, the Jewish Chronicle reports that a petition has been sent to the Uber chief executive, asking the firm to drop Moski’s from Uber Eats.

Speaking to the Jewish Chronicle, the manager of Moski’s said: “As an establishment in the Leith area, we welcome anyone who would like to use our window space for posters, adverts, political parties etc

“At Moskis we do not discriminate against race, religion, sexual orientation or nationality and I am quite saddened to see the response by some members of the community claiming that we do not allow ‘Jews to enter’. This is quite a serious accusation.

The manager added: “Not all Jewish people are in support of the Israeli government's actions and I would like their views to also be heard on the matter and of course again, everyone is welcome. We encourage an open table discussion for everyone to express their views and opinions.”

The controversial poster made headlines in March when an Edinburgh Green councillor posted an image of it in a tweet about Gaza.

Leith Walk councillor Susan Rae was reported to the ethics watchdog after she included it alongside a message about a meeting at McDonald Road Library. Her message read: “How can Leith come together to support Gaza? Join us to discuss the many ways that our community can help Palestinians in Gaza and the Occupied Territories.” She later deleted the tweet after being inundated with comments.

Former Leith Tory candidate Iain McGill lodged a complaint with the Ethical Standards Commissioner and called on the city council to stop the meeting from going ahead at the library. He said the publicity for the meeting was anti-Semitic and not what was expected from a councillor.

He accused Cllr Rae of “putting out toxic anti-Semitic views”. And he added: “Her views are unacceptable and she should be representing her whole community." Mr McGill continued: "Libraries should be a safe space for everybody. Having meetings for Zionist-free Leith is just beyond the pale. I don't have high expectations for Green councillors, but I have high expectations for the city council and I would have hoped for clearer leadership.”

Cllr Rae denied that her tweet was anti-Semitic. She said: “The poster is from the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) and the meeting is being held by the IWW. I'm attending the meeting because the meeting is to discuss what people in Leith can do to help with the situation in Gaza, given that we're now facing a famine there. That's what the tweet said. I'm afraid a lot of people just looked at the picture and didn't read the actual text.”

She took the tweet down after discussions with colleagues because she was being inundated with comments. “I realised the error I'd made, not thinking that people would look at the picture and not the tweet." But she stressed that she did not regard the idea of a Zionist-free zone as being racist or anti-Semitic.

She said: “Zionism and Judaism are two very different things. Being a Jew is not the same as being a Zionist at all.”

Cllr Rae added that she had worked in the West Bank and Gaza many years ago. “I have been in the Palestinian cause for most of my life and I do have quite a lot of understanding and knowledge of the subject.”