Kerala: Women On Tourist Visa Tear Down Pro-Palestine Posters In Fort Kochi, Internet Says 'How Entitled'

Two Jewish-origin women from Australia were booked by Kerala Police for tearing down pro-Palestine posters in Fort Kochi. They were released on bail. The incident led to a debate on Reddit.

Two Jewish-origin women from Australia were reportedly booked by the Kerala Police Tuesday after they allegedly tore down a pro-Palestine poster in the Fort Kochi area on Monday night. An FIR was registered at the Fort Kochi police station, reports said. A video being widely shared on social media shows the tourists destroying a poster erected somewhere in Fort Kochi, known for its Jew Town. Some local residents could be seen questioning the act, which led to a heated exchange of words between them.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the FIR registered under Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with the intent to cause riot, whether or not riot is committed) of the IPC does not name the two women. Since the offence is bailable, the women were released from the police station.

The report said the posters had been put up near the Fort Kochi boat jetty some time around the New Year.    

The incident, meanwhile, set off a discussion on Reddit where the users largely argued that the women visiting India on a tourist visa had “no right” to get involved in a local protest. 

“As per our visa norms they cannot take part in political protest,” wrote one user.

Another posted: “Let's not get into the merits and demerits of her arguments. Would any of us dare tear down some regular posters, let alone political, while abroad on a visa? This is sheer arrogance!”

A third user wrote: “Propaganda or not. Jewish or not. Hamas or not…Nobody should be allowed to come into our country and do...”

SIO Had 'No Permission' To Put Up The Posters: Police

The IE report said the posters were erected by the Students Islamic Organisation (SIO), the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami. Quoting the police, the report said the SIO had “no permission” to put up the posters at the public place, but it was the local civic body’s responsibility to remove them.

According to the report, the two Jewish tourists were living in a homestay.

Fort Kochi is known for its Jew Town, and the Paradesi synagogue. Though not many Jews are said to be living there any more, the place draws a lot of Jewish people, among other tourists from India and abroad. It is said that the area once housed a vibrant community of Jewish residents but most of them left after the creation of Israel in 1948. It was in the first century BCE that the first Jews were believed to have set foot in Kerala, arriving as sailors on the boats of King Solomon.