A hotel manager in the city of Kyoto in Japan refused to host an Israeli tourist because he claims Israel is committing war crimes. Also, the same manager at the MATERIAL Hotel in the city expressed concern that the Israeli had served in the IDF and the connections he had to commit war crimes. In response, the Israeli embassy in Tokyo sent messages of support from citizens, journalists and members of parliament. The message is uniform: this is not the way of Japan, the hotel manager acted in an unacceptable manner
“We cannot accept invitations from people who we believe may have a connection to the Israeli army,” wrote the hotel manager Geronimo Gris, whose country of origin is apparently Brazil: “Accommodating people who may have assisted or may assist in carrying out acts of war prohibited by international law, based on the Geneva Convention and other protocols, could put us at risk of being considered accomplices or aiding someone who could be prosecuted for war crimes once the conflict is over. We hope you understand that we cannot accept such a risk, so we cannot offer you to stay in one of our rooms.”
Alex’s case reached the Israeli embassy in Tokyo, which took the incident seriously. The ambassador, Gilad Cohen, sent a harsh letter to the CEO of the hotel chain and demanded from him an explanation of the incident. He also asked him to conduct an in-depth investigation while demanding an apology and the dismissal of the hotel manager. The letter that Ambassador Cohen sent to the CEO of the hotel chain also claimed that this was a serious case of discrimination which is against the law and since at the time of the invitation the Israeli guest did not mention his military past it seems that the cancellation of the invitation was done only because he was Jewish. “Discrimination in any form is unacceptable to us,” noted Ambassador Cohen. The embassy appealed to other officials in the enforcement authorities in Japan demanding to look into the matter in order to prevent the recurrence of such cases in the future.
The hotel chain has not yet responded to the ambassador’s letter.
In Japan, discrimination is rejected:
The Embassy of Israel in Japan is flooded with requests from Japanese citizens, members of parliament, journalists and friends of Israel who expressed shock at the decision of the manager of a boutique hotel in the city of Kyoto to refuse an invitation for an Israeli citizen to stay at the hotel because of war crimes allegedly committed by IDF soldiers in the Gaza Strip.
Many told Israel’s ambassador in Tokyo Gilad Cohen that they were ashamed of the decision and noticed that the hotel manager is not Japanese but Brazilian. Also, many of the applicants pointed out that refusing accommodation to tourists is against the hotel and tourism laws in Japan. Others wrote that they were shocked by the way the hotel owner responded to the Israeli citizen’s request.
Ambassador Cohen emphasized: “The case that happened in Kyoto does not represent Japan. Japan is a welcoming country that appreciates and respects the Israeli tourist. There is no anti-Semitism in Japan at all and there is a strong desire to accept Israelis. The Israelis are respected. El Al’s flights are full and this is an isolated phenomenon that does not represent the Japanese. Happy to host us.”
