Italian hotel manager rejects Israeli couple’s reservation, accusing Israeli people of ‘genocide’

The manager of a small hotel in northern Italy refused a reservation made by an Israeli couple, accusing Israeli people of being “responsible for genocide.” Jewish groups decried the incident as an example of antisemitism.

The couple had booked two nights for the beginning of November at the Hotel Garni Ongaro in Selva di Cadore, a mountain village surrounded by the Dolomites, using the Booking.com online reservation platform.

A day before their departure, they received a message from the hotel’s staff: “Good morning. We inform you that the Israeli people as those responsible for genocide are not welcome customers in our structure.”

The hotel manager then invited the tourists to cancel their reservation, adding they “would be happy to grant free cancellation.” The manager has since closed his Facebook profile, and he wasn’t immediately available for comment.

“I feel infinite sadness for the ignorance shown by certain people,” Dario Calimani, the president of the Jewish Community of Venice, says. “When you don’t agree with what Israel does, you spread hatred against all Israelis.”

The incident caught the attention of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, which has confirmed they were investigating the matter.

Booking.com says Friday that it has removed the hotel from its platform.

Hotel Garni Ongaro in Italy has informed Israeli guests they are unwelcome simply because they are Israeli.

I can only imagine the pain and sense of injustice I would feel if a hotel denied me a place to stay simply because of my identity, being Palestinian.

This is… pic.twitter.com/RkZVru9dJQ

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) November 14, 2024