Italian hotel manager rejects Israeli couple's reservation, accusing Israeli people of 'genocide'

The manager of a small hotel in northern Italy refused a reservation made by an Israeli couple, accusing Israeli people of being "responsible for genocide,” a Jewish organisation in Venice reported on Thursday.

The couple had booked two nights for the beginning of November at the Hotel Garni Ongaro in Selva di Cadore, a mountain village surrounded by the Dolomites, using the Booking.com online reservation platform.

A day before their departure, they received a message from the hotel’s staff: "Good morning. We inform you that the Israeli people as those responsible for genocide are not welcome customers in our structure.”

The hotel manager then invited the tourists to cancel their reservation, adding they "would be happy to grant free cancellation.” The manager has since closed his Facebook profile, and he wasn't immediately available for comment.

The incident caught the attention of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, which has confirmed they were investigating the matter. In addition, steps have been taken to ask Booking.com to remove the hotel from their platform. An email seeking comment was sent by The Associated Press to Booking.com.

The Veneto region governor, Luca Zaia, dubbed the incident as "extremely serious.”

"I feel deeply disturbed and I’m shocked by what has happened,” he said. "Veneto must guarantee its doors are open to all.”

The incident came as cases of antisemitism in Italy, including expressions of racism and discrimination against Jews, have been increasing over the past year amid the war in Gaza.

Associated Pres