Lvov – Yuri Nezaruk, who is only 31, hasd opened a restaurant, called “the Gilded Rose”, which is the subject of intense dispute.
It is situated in close proximity to the site of a synagogue of the same name, a 350 year-old building, destroyed by the Nazis. In the restaurant the customers are given hats to wear from which side-locks are attached in an imitation of ultra-orthodox Jews. There are no prices on the menu. The customers bargain with the waiter about the payment.
When Nezaruk was asked whether he understood why this is offensive, particularly in view of the fact that most of the Jews of Lvov were killed, he shrugs his shoulders. “More Ukrainians died in the war than Jews”, he says. “Bargaining about the prices? That is the truth, but you must see the positive side of it, we are not only dealing with antisemitic stereotypes. When Ukrainians come to the restaurant they see pictures of Bruno Schultz (a Jewish painter and author) and read about Joseph Roth (a Jewish journalist and writer). This is very positive”
Betty Retchister, a member of one of the leading families in the City’s tiny Jewish community thinks differently. “This is an insult to all the Jews, she insists. “Jews don’t go there” Are you angry? “No, I detest it”
