Swiss skiing resort has informed the guests that it will no longer provide skiing and other snow-sports equipment to Jewish customers. This decision stems from allegations of longstanding disorderly conduct, property damage, and thefts attributed to Jewish guests. The establishment has been accused of antisemitism, leading to significant controversy and a subsequent police investigation.
Skiing equipment storage room at the Pischa mountain restaurant hotel in Davos, Switzerland, had an offensive notice posted on its door over the weekend. The message in Hebrew explicitly prohibited Jewish guests from using the service.
“Due to various unfortunate incidents, including the theft of a sled, we no longer rent sports equipment to our Jewish brothers. This applies to all equipment such as sledges, airboards, ski jacks and snowshoes. Thank you for your understanding,” the note stated.
Local authorities and Graubünden cantonal police have initiated an official investigation into the matter and are currently looking into allegations of discrimination and incitement to hatred at the hotel.
The resort’s policy has been condemned by the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG), which labeled it as a new form of audacity. SIG Secretary General Jonathan Kreutner stated that the policy denigrates an entire group of guests based on their appearance and origin, and pledged to file a complaint in response.
The resort, however, defended its decision, stating that it was due to the disruptive behavior consistently demonstrated by Orthodox Jews at the resort. In a statement to local media, the resort clarified that they no longer wished to deal with the daily troubles and therefore reserved the right to choose who can lease their property. They emphasized that this decision was unrelated to faith, skin color, or personal preferences of the guests. The resort expressed concerns about potential accidents caused by these guests, pointing out their tendency to scatter equipment on the mountain slope instead of returning it and taking it from the storage room without permission, among other issues.
Sportbahnen Pischa AG, Davos tourism operator, quickly made it clear that the hotel where the incident occurred is not under their management. They emphasized that it is an externally leased property on the mountain.
Davos Klosters, the parent company of Sportbahnen Pischa AG, echoed this stance, with CEO Reto Branschi acknowledging that the wording of the notice was unfortunate.
“The notice can hurt the feelings of the Jewish guest group as a whole and that shouldn’t be the case,” Reto Branschi said in an interview.
Simultaneously, he acknowledged the long-standing tradition of disorderly conduct among Orthodox Jews, resulting in incidents of misconduct at nearby vacation spots. These challenges involving a minority faction indeed exist. The issue is multifaceted and has been brewing for an extended period, stated the CEO.
SOURCE: Davos Resort Bans Jewish Guests from Skiing BY: eTurboNews | eTN