Bavaria incident sparks outrage as antisemitic rejection revives dark memories and triggers legal review”
An investigation has been opened in Bavaria after an Israeli family attempting to book a hotel room in southern Germany received an explicit anti-Jewish rejection message.
The family tried to reserve accommodation at Hotel Zum Hirschen near Lam, close to the Czech border. After submitting the request through an online reservation platform, they reportedly received an email stating: “Sorry, there are no Jews allowed in our hotel.”
The travelers filed a complaint with Booking.com and contacted Israel’s consulate general in Munich. Booking.com then removed the hotel from its platform, blocking further reservations through the site.
Israeli Consul General in Munich Talya Lador condemned the incident, asking whether Europe was returning to the 1930s and welcoming Booking.com’s decision to remove the hotel.
Consular officials said the hotel initially denied wrongdoing, but later admitted that the discriminatory message had been generated and sent on its behalf by a staff member.
The case has now been transferred to Bavaria’s commissioner for combating antisemitism within the Justice Ministry. Legal experts are reviewing whether the employee’s conduct violated German law and whether prosecution should follow.
The incident is another alarming reminder that antisemitism in Europe is not only a historical memory, but a present danger that must be confronted without hesitation.
