Israeli cellist Erwin Javor, who divides his time between Vienna and Tel Aviv, posted on X about the disturbing incident during which he was kicked out of a restaurant in the Austrian capital simply for speaking Hebrew.
“Yesterday violinist Hagai Shaham, pianist Julia Gurevich, and I were enjoying a quiet moment in a small, pleasant Italian restaurant in Vienna, Austria, grabbing a quick bite before our concert. Naturally, we were speaking Hebrew among ourselves.
After we had placed our order, the waiter returned and suddenly asked what language we were speaking. I casually replied, ‘English and German.’ ‘No, no,’ he insisted. ‘What were you just speaking?’ I answered, ‘Hebrew, of course.’ He looked me straight in the eye and, without hesitation, said: ‘In that case, leave. I won’t serve you food.’”
Yabor was stunned—not only by the waiter’s response, but also by the reaction of the other diners. “The initial shock and humiliation were deep. But what struck us even more was what happened next—or rather, what didn’t happen. The people around us were clearly shocked, some gave sympathetic looks, and then, quietly, they returned to their dinners, their conversations, their wine—as if nothing had happened.
Welcome to Europe, 2025.”