Israeli musician says he was kicked out of Vienna restaurant for speaking Hebrew with friends

Israeli cellist Amit Peled says he was told to leave a restaurant in Vienna by a waiter after being overheard speaking Hebrew with two other Israeli musicians.

In a post on Instagram, Peled writes that he was sitting with violinist Hagai Shaham and pianist Julia Gurvitch at an Italian restaurant, Ramazotti, on Friday, when a waiter confronted them for speaking Hebrew.

“After taking our order, the waiter returned and suddenly asked what language we were speaking. I replied casually, ‘English and German.’ ‘No, no,’ he insisted. ‘What were you just speaking now?’ I answered, ‘Hebrew, of course,'” Peled writes.

“He looked me directly in the eye and said, without hesitation: ‘In that case, leave. I’m not serving you food.’ Just like that,” Peled continues.

“The initial shock and humiliation were profound. But what struck us even more deeply was what came next — or rather, what didn’t. The people around us were clearly startled, some offered sympathetic glances… and then, quietly, they went back to their dinners, their conversations, their wine — as though nothing had happened,” he adds. “Welcome to Europe, 2025.”