Israeli restaurants must pay for protection

Israeli restaurateurs are turning to private security firms in an effort to protect their customers from Palestinian suicide bombers.

Restaurants and hotels have been prime targets for the bombers precisely because they are easy to get into and hard to police.
The attack a week ago on the Park Hotel in Netanya, north of Tel Aviv, which killed 19 Israelis as they gathered to celebrate Passover, prompted Paz Nisim, owner of the 100-seat Bambili Paz internet café in the city to hire guards.

"All of the restaurants now have special security people to protect the place. It is not great to have to go into a restaurant and see bodyguards waiting around but what choice do we have?" he said.

The café uses between one and two security guards, an extra cost that has so far been borne by the restaurant. "The Government has said we must take care of it," said Nisim.

At the 180-seat Darna restaurant in Jerusalem, manager Mikhil Cohen said guards had been hired since the bombings first started last summer.

"We have someone who keeps an eye on everybody who walks in. We have not had to bring up our prices, but most of the smaller coffee shops and cafes are taking more for each portion," she said.

With security guards costing as much as £10 to £14 an hour, some cafes are charging an extra two shekels, about 15p, for a cake and coffee.

But restaurateurs are also putting a brave face on the worsening security situation. "It is business as usual," a spokeswoman for the 40-seat Arcadia restaurant in Jerusalem said earlier this week. "We do not have a security person on the door, although most restaurants now do.

"We are still functioning, in fact we have the governor of New York eating here tonight."

by Nic Paton