Marriott in Germany apologizes to Jewish singer told to remove Star of David ...the Video of his incident got over one million views.

 

German Jewish singer-songwriter Gil Ofarim said a hotel in Leipzig denied him entry for wearing a Star of David necklace, Deutsche Welle reported.

According to the musician, who is the son of the late Israeli musician Abi Ofarim, the hotel said that if he did not put away the Star of David necklace he was wearing, he would not be allowed to check in.

In a video posted to social media, Ofarim recounted that when he attempted to check in to the Hotel Westin in Leipzig on Monday, a long line formed due to problems with the hotel computers.

Eventually, Ofarim noticed that the rest of the line was being ushered forward but he wasn’t.

Ofarim said that he asked the desk clerk, “What's going on? Why is everyone else being called up ahead of me?"

He was told by the employee that they were trying to fix the issue but he did not let Ofarim move ahead in line.

The singer then stated that “someone called out from the corner: 'Put your star away.”

Ofarim said that the hotel worker again asked Ofarim to take off or hide his Star of David.

He said he was told, “Once you put it away, then you can check in."

At the end of the video, Ofarim, who holds back tears, ends by saying the words, “Germany, 2021.”

According to Deutsche Welle, Leipzig police said they were preparing to send Ofarim’s video to prosecutors for “consideration.”

The case was described as being in the early stages.

The incident was condemned by Josef Schuster, the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.

"The anti-Semitic hostility against Gil Ofarim is terrifying,” Schuster said on Twitter. “Hopefully [Hotel Westin] faces consequences. I also hope that in the future we will meet with solidarity when we are attacked.”

A hotel spokesperson told the DPA news agency that they were attempting to contact Ofarim to ask him for more information about what happened. They also said that the hotel’s policy is to treat all guests with respect.

The incident sparked a Tuesday evening protest in Leipzig, where at least 600 people gathered in front of the hotel to demonstrate against anti-Semitism, according to Leipzig newspaper Leipziger Zeitung.

Hotel staff reportedly held up a sign in solidarity with protestors.

Marriott hotels has apologized to Gil Ofarim, a German Jewish singer who was asked to remove his Star of David necklace by staff at the Westin Hotel in Leipzig, Germany before he would be allowed to check in.

"We were shocked and saddened to see the video posted by Gil Ofarim regarding the Westin Leipzig," said a Marriott spokesperson. "We have reached out to Mr Ofarim to express how deeply sorry we are for his experience."

The spokesperson said that Marriott takes the matter "extremely seriously" and will support the police investigation into the incident.