Marriott hotels has apologized to Gil Ofarim, a German Jewish singer who was asked to remove his Star of David necklace by staff at the Westin Hotel in Leipzig, Germany before he would be allowed to check in.
"We were shocked and saddened to see the video posted by Gil Ofarim regarding the Westin Leipzig," said a Marriott spokesperson. "We have reached out to Mr Ofarim to express how deeply sorry we are for his experience."
The spokesperson said that Marriott takes the matter "extremely seriously" and will support the police investigation into the incident.
"The third-party hotel operator has advised us that its employee involved in this matter has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation," the spokesperson said. "Marriott International is committed to welcoming all. We condemn anti-Semitism in all its forms and any discrimination whether it be based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or abilities."
Marriott is the parent company of Westin.
Earlier on Friday, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) had called on the Marriott hotel chain to directly apologize to Ofarim
After the Monday incident, Ofarim, a German-Israeli singer and the son of the late Israeli musician Abi Ofarim, recorded an Instagram video which has now been viewed over a million times.
“This blatantly antisemitic incident is sickening and unacceptable everywhere, but especially in Germany. It reminds us that antisemitism is a problem in all parts of society, not only in the extreme fringes,” said Remko Leemhuis, director of AJC Berlin.
In the video, a visibly upset Ofarim desribed the incident, and how the staff told him to remove his Star of David necklace before he would be allowed to check in.
At the end of the video, Ofarim asked, “Really? Germany 2021.”
“Marriott should take all necessary steps to ensure that something like this will never happen again. AJC stands ready to help with our expertise and knowledge,” Leemhuis said.
The hotel staff involved in the incident have reportedly been suspended.
In response, AJC has launched an online petition calling on Marriott to apologize to Ofarim, and also to institute anti-Semitism training for its employees in Germany and worldwide.
“AJC has the staff expertise and resources, especially its Translate Hate publication, to engage staff at all Marriott brands in understanding what is anti-Semitism, what should obviously be offensive words and actions,” AJC said. “Translate Hate is an innovative digital resource aimed at enabling individuals of all backgrounds to recognize and expose anti-Semitic language and images. It also recommends actions to take against hate speech.”
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)