The prosecutor's office of the Swiss town of Grisons fined the owner of a sports equipment rental point at a ski resort "for discrimination based on race, ethnicity or religion." The reason was the announcement posted by him about his unwillingness to give skis and sleds to Jews, SwissInfo writes.
The incident occurred at the ski resort of Pisha this winter. A Swiss entrepreneur in his restaurant hung an advertisement in Hebrew, the text of which read:
"Due to various unfortunate incidents, including the theft of sleds, we no longer rent sports equipment to our Jewish brothers. This includes all kinds of equipment, including sleds, snowboards, skis and snowshoes. Thank you so much for your understanding."
Later, against the background of the uproar in social networks, he explained that he was forced to make such a decision by the behavior of Israeli tourists who did not return the equipment, but simply threw it in the mountains. The Swiss also apologized for the "incorrect wording," stressing that "Jews are still welcome."
"We just don't want to let them rent our equipment anymore, it's not related to religion, skin color or personal preferences, we just don't want any more daily conflicts," he said.
The general director of the Davos tourist complex, Reto Bransky, also apologized to Israeli tourists, but admitted that dealing with some orthodox Jewish guests was difficult.
"This group does not bother with our rules and sometimes behaves extremely disrespectfully towards hosts and other service providers," he said.
Nevertheless, the police launched an investigation, but the case did not go to court, and the decision on the fine was taken by the prosecutor's office. The Swiss Ministry of Tourism condemned the "unfortunate incident," stressing that "such statements are unacceptable under any circumstances." The Swiss Ministry of Tourism stressed that the Swiss Alps region has been and remains one of the favorite tourist destinations of Orthodox Jews.