Talk about apartheid.
If you are a Jew, or a Christian who loves and supports the Jewish people, you are not welcome in Bethlehem. At least not at the Bethlehem Hotel, whose manager went on an antisemitic rant earlier this week.
Ilyas al-A’rja was miffed after his hotel was shot up by Palestinian gunmen, who in turn had been set off by social media posts showing Jewish symbols being displayed at an event in the conference hall of the hotel.
That grievous offense (pardon the sarcasm) was committed by a group of Filipino Christians staying at the hotel. They wanted to have a party in the conference hall, apparently in celebration of the biblical Feast of Tabernacles.
Considering the violence visited upon his hotel, and reports that the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Tourism opened an investigation into the objectionable conference hall event, al-A’rja no doubt felt compelled to very publicly distance himself from the perceived acceptance of Jewish iconography.
But, boy, did he go overboard.
“Jews are not allowed in this hotel,” he insisted in remarks to Palestinian media.
Al-A’rja also stressed that he had demanded the Filipino Christians immediately remove the Star of David and Menorah they had displayed as part of their event.
Israelis were furious.
On Hebrew-language social media the call went out to retaliate by reviewing-bombing The Bethlehem Hotel and its antisemitic management.
On Google, The Bethlehem Hotel had enjoyed an overall rating of 4.2 stars up until this week. By Wednesday, that rating had fallen to a dismal 1.9 stars.
“Beware, this is an apartheid hotel. They are not letting Jews in,” read one review.
“If you enjoy some racism with your morning coffee, this is the hotel for you,” stated another.
“You might be accidentally shot in your room (the gunmen damaged several upper floor rooms), but if you can prove you’re not Jewish, got for it,” facetiously wrote a third.
One Israeli noted the “hypocrisy of the owners, who are happy to give the hotel a Hebrew name (Bethlehem – Beit Lechem – House of Bread), but won’t permit entry to those who actually speak the language (ie. Jews).”
