‘Sorry, no Jews allowed’: German hotel reportedly informs Israeli

A German hotel has been removed from the booking.com hotel website after reportedly writing to an Israeli who attempted to reserve a room “sorry, there are no Jews allowed at our hotel”.

According to reports from Israeli media, Hotel zum Hirschen in Lam, Bavaria, issued the message on Monday to an Israeli family seeking to stay there. The family told the Israeli consulate, who later informed the Ynet media outlet that the hotel initially denied sending the message, but later acknowledged that one of its employees had sent it.

Talya Lador, Israel’s consul general for Southern Germany, said: “Are we back in the 1930s? A hotel responded to an Israeli as follows: ‘sorry, there are no Jews allowed in our hotel.’ I’m glad that booking.com has banned this hotel from its website.”

Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, subsequently told Israel’s N12 News that “something must be done…when they write ‘No entry for Jews’ they are no longer hiding”.

Booking.com have since removed the hotel from their website – other hotels with the same name remain. It is understood that the Bavarian Ministry of Justice is looking into the incident.

Just last week, Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial and museum, announced that it would open its first education centre outside of Israel, in Bavaria. Responding to that news, Markus Soder, Minister-President of the Bavarian state government, said “This shows: Jewish life has a firm place in Bavaria. Especially in times when antisemitism is on the rise again, we need clear stances, a vibrant culture of remembrance, and places of education. Because ‘Never again’ is not just a mere phrase, but a lasting mandate for all of us.”