Confusion at the King David Hotel
Confusion at the King David Hotel

Ever have one of those days when everything that can go wrong does go wrong? Haim Shkedi had one of those days.

Nothing went right from the moment Shkedi, the general manager of the famed King David Hotel threw a party for his workers, most of them Arabs – and, parenthetically, what did I just say? I said most of them are Arabs, so there goes that BDS argument out the window, about Israel being so terribly “apartheid.”

Back to the question at hand, so what went wrong? Let me try to sort this out the best way I can.

If I get some facts wrong don’t come after me the way people have being going after Haim Shkedi – and for no good reason.

He can’t seem to hear the end of it, now that we live in a world where we’re mad as hell and won’t take it anymore.

So with Ramadan coming up (Christmas so soon?), Shkedi or members of his staff hired a band to entertain these Arab employees, figuring these musicians would be Arabs themselves to get the place rocking. Instead, behold -- Jews showed up and started to play.

What can we say but oy vey? They put it differently. A few (not all) of these Arab attendees complained, and it wasn’t about the music, but about the clothing. Some of these performers were wearing yarmulkes and tzitzis, and so it began when they were asked by management to remove such obviously Jewish apparel.

Once that got out, headlines began screaming that the King David Hotel, right in the heart of Jerusalem, was stifling Jewish expression.  

Like everybody else, I jumped on board and blamed the hotel and its manager for everything that’s gone wrong in this world.

Jews can’t be Jewish even in Israel?

Did he bow to the king of Saudi Arabia? No, that was Obama.
But hold on. Shkedi explained that there had merely been a series of misunderstandings, and he appeared sincerely contrite and heartbroken, and from what I can tell, this is a good man, who along with his family, is true to Israel and its Jewish heritage.

What did he do to deserve such disapproval?

Did he bow to the king of Saudi Arabia? No, that was Obama. Did he force his staff or his guests to proclaim, “Allah is god?”

No, that happened in Maury County, Tennessee, where 7th graders were forced to write those words.

Did he make his guests sign the register and then urge them to announce, “Mohammed is the true messenger?”

No, that happened in Seminole County, Texas, where 10th graders were being taught to believe exactly that.

Did he remove the Israeli flag from the premises? No, Haaretz did that in New York to appease the PLO’s Saeb Erekat.

Did he remove Christians and Jews from the hotel to make room for Muslim migrants?

No, that’s what’s happening throughout Europe and coming to America.

So Haim Shkedi did nothing wrong.

Rather, he fell in step with the rest of the world that’s surrendering centuries of Judeo/Christian civilization to appease Islam.

About this capitulation to make the entire world Sharia Compliant, the story is big, much bigger than one man.

New York-based bestselling American novelist Jack Engelhard writes a regular column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author of the international bestseller “Indecent Proposal.” NEW:  Fiction about a celebrity who resembles Megyn Kelly, “News Anchor Sweetheart.”  Hardcover and soft cover coming in June. Now here on Kindle. Engelhard is the recipient of the Ben Hecht Award for Literary Excellence. Website: www.jackengelhard.com