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US News


UTAH INVESTIGATING BAR RUN BY FAILED MAYORAL CANDIDATE FOR IMPLEMENTING ‘NO
ZIONISTS ALLOWED’ POLICY

By Melissa Koenig

Published March 7, 2024, 1:29 p.m. ET

A Utah bar has implemented a “No Zionists allowed” policy, and is being
investigated for alleged discrimination.

Failed Salt Lake City mayoral candidate and bar owner Michael Valentine
announced the new policy for his newly opened bar on social media over the
weekend — claiming the pro-Israel belief is hate speech akin to “neo-Nazis.”

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“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,” he
posted on the Instagram page for the Weathered Waves bar on Sunday.

“That is why we are pleased to announce we are banning all Zionists forever from
our establishments,” wrote Valentine, who also owns the local Six Sailor Cider
group.

4
A Salt Lake City bar is under investigation after its owner posted that it has a
“No Zionists allowed” policy. weatheredwavesbar/Instagram

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“Zionism is hate speech. It is white supremacy and has nothing to do with the
beautiful Jewish faith.”

In the days since Valentine made the incendiary post, the Utah Department of
Alcoholic Beverage Services received “several comments from members of the
public” and requested that the state Attorney General’s Office investigate
whether the bar is violating anti-discrimination laws, a spokesperson for the
agency told the Salt Lake Tribune.

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The department is also reviewing its own legal options, after just granting the
Weathered Waves bar its liquor license last Thursday, the spokesman said.

4
The Weathered Waves bar had just opened in the city, and was granted a liquor
license last week. weatheredwavesbar/Instagram

Jewish Utahns claim the new policy is just thinly veiled antisemitism.

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“I think it is a smoke screen for open Jew hatred,” Rabbi Avremi Zippel, of
Chabad Lubavitch of Utah, told KUTV.

He argued that there is no way for bar staff to distinguish between Zionists and
Jews.

“When someone comes into your place of business to order food or beverage, how
are you able to ascertain what their political ideologies are?” he asked the
Tribune.

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“Zionism is a political ideology. It’s a philosophy. How exactly is a place of
business supposed to determine who is and who is not a Zionist.”

His conclusion, he said, is that “the emptiness of the policy and the inability
to enforce that policy without openly discriminating against the religion shows
what the real motivation behind that is.”

4
Bar owner Michael Valentine argues the new policy is not antisemitic and is just
a response to the war in Gaza. punkrockmayorslc/Instagram

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The United Jewish Federation of Utah also condemned the “biased policy,” and
said it had reached out to local, state and federal leaders to investigate the
watering hole, ABC 4 reports.

It said the policy applies a “double standard to Israel” and the Jewish
community, and could lead to the acceptance of discrimination and violence.

But amid the backlash, Valentine says he is the one being targeted.

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He claimed the bar has received an arson threat and is the victim of “review
bombing,” he told the Tribune.

Valentine has also denied that his new policy is antisemitic, writing in a
follow-up Instagram post: “For the record, we are banning Zionists, not Jews.
The exact same way we ban neo-Nazis and white supremacists, and not
Christians.” 

4
In his Instagram post, Valentine declared that Zionism is “hate speech” akin to
that of neo-Nazis. punkrockmayorslc/Instagram

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“Being religious is not an excuse or open license for racism, hate speech, and
xenophobia. [We] have zero tolerance for it and won’t abide,” he wrote.

He claimed the policy is necessary to foster an inclusive environment, telling
the Tribune how the bar is decorated with trans flags and Palestinian flags.

“I’m against hate speech of all kinds — against trans people, against queer
people, against Palestinians, against Jews,” he insisted.

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“I don’t perceive how this could be seen as discriminatory,” he added to KUTV.

What do you think? Post a comment.

“We’re advocating for an inclusive environment by rejecting hate speech, which
is quite the opposite of discrimination.”

The Post has reached out to Valentine and the Utah Attorney General’s Office for
comment.


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