'Zionist-free zone': Israelis are increasingly unwanted at global tourism sites
'Zionist-free zone': Israelis are increasingly unwanted at global tourism sites
From a hotel in Kyoto to a sandwich joint in Edinburgh, the world is becoming hostile toward Israelis who are learning that a vacation won't shield them from the Gaza war.
During the nine months of war the Israeli tourist experience abroad has been marked by fears of antisemitism and efforts to avoid pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
According to reports by Israeli media and posts online, some of those worries have recently turned real for a number of Israeli tourists.Anecdotal incidents at touristic locations around the world are making it clear that even though there is no official policy of excluding Israelis, that is sometimes the situation on the ground.
An especially bumpy week began on June 17 at the Material Hotel in Kyoto, Japan, when an Israeli named Alex was informed that his reservation had been canceled due to the allegations of Israeli war crimes in Gaza. The Material told Alex that it was "not able to accept reservations from persons we believe might have ties to the Israeli army," as reported by Israeli website Ynet.
The story made the rounds on social media, produced a stern protest letter from Israel's ambassador in Tokyo, and led to a rebuke by the Kyoto municipality that the hotel had breached Japanese business law and must ensure that such a transgression won't happen again.
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This is some random dude, not Benjamin Netanyahu. Would you support that hotel banning all Palestinians because they are governed by an internationally-recognized terrorist organisation?
Would you support that hotel banning all Palestinians because they are governed by an internationally-recognized terrorist organisation?
When's the last time Palestinians got to vote for who they are governed by?
Not sure you’re seriously asking but the answer is 2006. Add to that the fact that the median age in Gaza is 18 years and it’s clear that Hamas doesn’t have a legitimate governance mandate. They’re a mob outfit.
Good point. We'd need a whole other thread to hash out the legitimacy of Hamas' rule. Palestinians right now are a bit like Italians circa 1942.
And Israel is Germany circa 1939.
Because every Israeli voted for the government they now have? It's stupid to exclude a whole nationality of people from traveling because of their government.
Because every Israeli voted for the government they now have?
Innocent people are being murdered by a government. Telling people represented by that government that they are not welcome is perfectly acceptable. It is in their hands to change their government more than it is mine.
That's bullshit. The USA kills innocent people, but I wouldn't ever say all Americans are not welcome. I wouldn't even say all Russians aren't welcome. Many people oppose their government and yet can't do anything about what it does.
Many people oppose their government and yet can't do anything about what it does.
If humans are completely powerless to ensure that moral action is taken, then we shouldn't exist. Just launch the nukes now.
Do you even listen to yourself
Not for much longer, because human lives are transient. Which is good, because humans seems to prefer making the world worse to making it better.
Sure, bullying some Israeli tourist for war crimes they oppose themselves is absolutely making the world a better place.
Innocent people being killed is important enough to harm people by telling them they're not welcome to holiday with you, because you disagree with what their government is doing. Yes, that is a form of collective punishment. No, it is not as bad as being killed because you happened to be born Palestinian.
A thing can be bad while still not being as bad as mass murder.
Sounds like this is someone with significant ties to the IDF. Although since they force everyone except religious extremists to serve, maybe that doesn't mean much.
If they're able to conclusively prove that, then sure, I'm on board with the ban. I would question how some hotel clerk in Japan was able to make that determination, though. It could easily be a case of "most Israelis serve in the IDF and you are Israeli therefore GTFO"
Yeah agreed