Booking.com Action in Response to Wiesenthal Centre Protest - A Path-Breaking Step Against Discrimination by the Travel Industry

August 17, 2017

Paris,

Simon Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, commended the immediate reaction of Booking.com in his letter to CEO Gillian Tans.

A Booking.com spokeswoman said: “We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. We can confirm that the property in question is no longer available on Booking.com."

"This is indeed a path-breaking step against discrimination by the travel industry," lauded Samuels

He continued,"So far, we have received three emails criticizing our intervention and 48 congratulatory, including back up correspondence from a hotel Jewish victim...

-Some ten years ago we had a similar case regarding a luxury hotel in St.Moritz. Our intervention resulted in a change of management and of policy

-We are very familiar with the indiscriminate welcome and hospitality of hotels in the region and know what shame such incidents as this case in Arosa bring to them

-The manageress of the offending hotel expressed her desire to continue receiving Jewish guests but sadly tarnished her apology in reportedly adding that only the Jews are troublemakers

- One Swiss local official dared to respond to us by email that the Jews "cast the first stone" - hardly apologetic

- Based in Europe, we well know how bigots probe the first line of prejudice appeasement. Unless publicly condemned and penalized, its acceptability will spread exponentially

-No matter whom the target, Jew, Muslim, Roma, Gay etc., our reaction would have been the same

We thank Booking.com for sharing for sharing this reaction," concluded Samuels.

Also read related story:

Swiss hotel accused of antisemitism over signs singling out Jews


For more information, please contact the Center's Communcations Department, 310-553-9036, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter feed.
 
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).