'Hitler's Cross' restaurant not "trying to promote Hitler here."

This article is from Aug of '06 long before I started my blog but I wanted make sure one of my favorite Jewish news stories found a home at didjewknow. At the end of the article I have included a talk back piece. It is one person retorting several others who made comments on this article. I think it is more fun to read without hearing what is being said on the other side of the phone, Newhart style (sorry about the reference for those under 40..look it up)

'Hitler's Cross' restaurant opens in India
The owner of the just-opened Hitler's Cross restaurant in Mumbai claims he's not "trying to promote Hitler here." Instead, Punit Sabhlok tells the Mumbai Mirror, the Nazi dictator "wanted to conquer the world by using force and I would like to do that by the food and service I provide."

So far, according to The Washington Post, the restaurant has attracted little controversy in India -- where "Holocaust awareness is limited, Hitler is regarded as just another historical figure and swastikas are an ancient Hindu symbol, displayed all over to bring luck. There are just 5,500 Jews in all of India."

The Times of India, though, reports today that "concerned and irate Jews across the world" have been calling Israel's consulate in Mumbai to complain about the restaurant after hearing about it from news reports (such as this one by the BBC).

Grand Retort:
asdfghjkl wrote: 140d ago
first off, if the swastika is an ancient symbol, than no big deal. hitler is offensive, but it's just some moron trying to get attention.
what bothers me more is some of these responses.

hitler's name not being palatable to many Americans?, hello hitler, is not just a name, the guy killed millions of people. I'ts also stupid to compare him to bush, just because you don't like bush's policies does not mean he's a quarter as bad as Hitler. and as for genocide in other areas, was any of it really as horrific?

"Notice how free speech stops at the door-steps of Jewish affairs?" What about the big deal with the satirical cartoons of muhmmad in holland? free speech is controlled anywhere, jews aren't anything
by the way steve, that's a bunch of leftist crud, lower than propaganda because it's not even true enough to be opinion.
people should not joke about the holocaust, and we should not forget about it "just because it was before we were born" it was horrific and should not happen again.
by the way fromhouston, if the guy was showing support for the so called "palestinian cause" he shouldn't have chosen something that "offended homosexuals, gypsies, and disabled people.
bert thomas, you're crazy to have Hitler as a hero, he massacred people , was plain nuts, and wasn't that great of a military genius, he tried to invade russia.
deuce, that is so insensitive.
jman i don't no what you' re talking about, at school they make way more of a deal about african americans than the holocaust, despite the fact that they weren't slaughtered. not being able to get a job, which i seriously doubt is true, but pardon me somehow i think genocide and torture are oh, slightly worse (sarcasm in case you can't recognize it)
TO THE PEOPLE WHO SAY LEAVE IT AND GET A LIFE. what's wrong with you? jail house rock, watch your family slaughtered, rapped and tortured and then just leave it. janet, it's not jewish peoples beliefs, it's the fact that millions were killed, you want to go tell the graves to, uh, "get a life?"

all this is is someone trying to make money in an extremely insensitive way, but what scares me most is people who don't seem to understand what the holocaust ways. hitler was not just someone made up for jewish attention, cuz if he was explain to me who was in charge of the killing, torture, massacre, etc. etc.