Funeral of Hadar Buchris a beautiful soul!

Mourners react during the funeral of Hadar Buchris, 21, in Jerusalem on November 23, 2015. Hadar Buchris was murdered in a stabbing attack at the West Bank's Gush Etzion Junction yesterday. Photo by Mirian Alster/Flash9

Jerusalem - Once again, Jews worldwide are mourning the loss of a life cut all too short, as 21 year old Hadar Buchris was buried this afternoon at Har Hamenuchos in Jerusalem.

Hundreds turned out to say goodbye to Buchris who was killed yesterday in stabbing attack in Gush Etzion.

Buchris’ family traveled from Netanya for the funeral and her mother, Segal, told Yediot Aharanot that she had been concerned about her daughter’s choice to live in Gush Etzion, in order to study in a women’s college.

“We know the Gush well,” said Mrs. Buchris.  “She was born there in Beitar Ilit and we lived there for years.  Her whole childhood was spent in Beitar Ilit and she was tied to the place.”

Hadar Buchris returned from a vacation to India just two weeks ago.

“When she was in India I didn’t worry about her at all,” said Mrs. Buchris.  “When she came back is when I first started worrying.”

Many could be seen at the funeral leaning on each other for support as they surrounded the body, draped by a dark velvet cloth adorned with a gold Magen Dovid, wondering how a 21 year old who was known for her oversized heart could have been brutally murdered in cold blood.

Hadar Buchris leaves behind her parents, Aryeh and Segal and four siblings, as reported by Israeli news sites Walla and Maariv.

Aryeh Buchris described his daughter as wise and sensitive to the needs of others.

“You had a big heart and everything was open for you, how much you wanted to please others,” said Aryeh Buchris.  “Your tragic departure has left us in pain.  We are stunned and aching. We can barely carry this.  You are the type of girl who was larger than life.  The ache is immense, enormous, but we will stay strong and keep the family together, now more than ever.  I promise you that. We won’t stop missing you or thinking about you.”

Hadar Buchris’ grandmother, Sara Dror eulogized her granddaughter, saying that her three daughters had given her 13 grandchildren.

“Our Hadari, you grew up early and you left your parents house at age 14 to study in ulpan. Today we are standing by your grave and we can’t believe we are burying a granddaughter at such a young age.”

Family members and relatives of Israeli Hadar Buchris mourn next to her body during her funeral ceremony in Jerusalem, Israel, 23 November 2015. Hadar Buchris, 21, was killed by a Palestinian attacker who stabbed her to death at the central bus station in the Gush Etzion settlement block junction in the West Bank on 22 November.  EPA/ABIR SULTAN

Mrs. Dror noted that the family had expressed concern about Hadar’s decision to live in Gush Etzion.

“We told you it was dangerous there, but you reminded us that everything is in Hashem’s hands.”

In her remarks, sister Noa Buchris spoke about her feelings one day after her sister was savagely murdered.

“Hadar, you are with us, but you will not be with us ever again,” lamented Noa Buchris. “We are not separated because you will continue to live on inside of me.  Only recently have I begun to understand how privileged I am to be a part of the Jewish nation, which is alive and will live on forever.”

Noa Buchris also read remarks written by her brother Hillel.

“Just one day before I had spoken about the five korbanos who were taken from us on Thursday.  I never dreamed that we would be standing here, burying you. I love so, so much.”

FILE - Hadar Buchris

Sister Maayan Buchris said that even after her death, Hadar continued to inspire and she recalled how the two embraced and took care of each other just one week earlier when they spent Shabbos together.

“Your light influences us even now,” said Maayan Buchris.  “It doesn’t stop, it just comes from a greater place, on high.  I don’t know what I will do now.  Who I will call when things are difficult?  I am coming to terms with the idea that you are not alive and it is hard for me that you are no longer here with me. I wanted to get married and to bring my children to visit you but it seems that you were destined for greater things.”

Buchri’s older brother Zohar noted that his sister’s death was incomprehensible.

“We can’t accept that a cold blooded killer took you,” said Zohar Buchris.  “We miss you already and we will always remember you.  We can only hope that you will be the last korban in this cruel world ... Go rest my beautiful sister.  We already miss you. You know how much I loved you and we will always remember you.  Go rest beautiful girl.”

Among the mourners were Israel’s chief rabbi, Rabbi Dovid Lau and several elected officials, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Jerusalem mayor Nir Barakat, all of whom expressed their condolences to the Buchris family.  Elan Shochet, mayor of Tzefas, spoke about Hadar Buchris’ love of Eretz Yisroel, a concept reiterated by Knesset member and Minister of Religious Services, David Azoulai.

“Hadar you traveled on roads that were long and dangerous but your last journey is being made in the land that you love,” said Azoulai.  “You are in an elevated place now and nothing can prevent someone who dies al kiddush Hashem from the highest rewards.  All of the heavenly court is coming out to greet you.”

The brother (R) of Israeli Hadar Buchris cries as family members and relatives mourn during her funeral ceremony in Jerusalem, Israel, 23 November 2015. Hadar Buchris, 21, was killed by a Palestinian attacker who stabbed her to death at the central bus station in the Gush Etzion settlement block junction in the West Bank on 22 November.  EPA/ABIR SULTAN

Family members and relatives of Israeli Hadar Buchris mourn during her funeral ceremony in Jerusalem, Israel, 23 November 2015. Hadar Buchris, 21, was killed by a Palestinian attacker who stabbed her to death at the central bus station in the Gush Etzion settlement block junction in the West Bank on 22 November.  EPA/ABIR SULTAN

Mourners react during the funeral for Israeli Hadar Buchris, 21, in Jerusalem, November 23, 2015. Reuters

Mourners react during the funeral of Hadar Buchris, 21, in Jerusalem on November 23, 2015. Hadar Buchris was murdered in a stabbing attack at the West Bank's Gush Etzion Junction yesterday. Photo by Mirian Alster/Flash90

Mourners react during the funeral of Hadar Buchris, 21, in Jerusalem on November 23, 2015. Hadar Buchris was murdered in a stabbing attack at the West Bank's Gush Etzion Junction yesterday. Photo by Mirian Alster/Flash90

Mourners react during the funeral of Hadar Buchris, 21, in Jerusalem on November 23, 2015. Hadar Buchris was murdered in a stabbing attack at the West Bank's Gush Etzion Junction yesterday. Photo by Mirian Alster/Flash90

Family members and relatives of Israeli Hadar Buchris carry the body to her funeral in Jerusalem, Israel, 23 November 2015. Hadar Buchris, 21, was killed by a Palestinian attacker who stabbed her to death at the central bus station in the Gush Etzion settlement block junction in the West Bank on 22 November.  EPA/ABIR SULTAN

The covered body of Israeli woman Hadar Buchris, 21, is carried to burial during her funeral in Jerusalem, November 23, 2015. Reuters

Ziv Mizrachi IDF soldier murdered by Arab Savages on Route 443

The 20-year old Israeli killed in a stabbing attack at a gas station on Route 443, north of Jerusalem, on Monday, was an IDF soldier, the army announced.

The soldier was identified as 18-year-old Private Ziv Mizrachi from Givat Ze’ev. Ze’ev was a driver in a unit that operates surveillance balloons.

MDA paramedics also treated a woman in her twenties, a soldier as well, who suffered light injuries.

The suspected terrorist was shot and killed.

The IDF sent reinforcements to Route 443 following the attack. Soldiers were also searching for additional people who may have been wounded by the attacker.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, scheduled to meet on Tuesday with Israeli and Palestinian leaders at loggerheads since their peace negotiations under his auspices stalled in April 2014, sounded circumspect about his latest mission.

“This is an effort to see if we can get some concrete steps in place – begin to build them, maybe – that could calm things down a little bit so people aren’t living in absolute, daily terror that they might be stabbed or driven into or shot trying to walk around their city,” he said during a visit to Abu Dhabi.

“It happens almost every day over there and it’s terrible, and too many Israelis have been killed and stabbed, and too many Palestinians,” Kerry told reporters. “And there’s no excuse for any of the violence.”

Israeli Police stand next to the body of Israeli soldier who was attacked by a Palestinian in a gas station Route 443, a highway that runs through the West Bank from the large Israeli town of Modi'in to Jerusalem, near Beit Khoron, 23 November 2015. EPA

Israeli security examines the body of a Palestinian attacker who killed an Israeli soldier in a gas station on Route 443 running through the West Bank from the large Israeli town of Modi’in to Jerusalem, near Beit Khoron, 23 November 2015. A Palestinian attacker stabbed to death an Israeli at a gas station north-west of Jerusalem, in the West Bank, before being caught and shot dead himself, the Israeli military said. (Credit: EPA)

Israeli security personnel stand next to the covered body of a Palestinian who attacked an Israeli couple as they exited their car in a gas station Route 443, a highway that runs through the West Bank from the large Israeli town of Modi’in to Jerusalem, near Beit Khoron, 23 November 2015. The Palestinian who killed a 20-year-old Israeli man and injured the woman he was with before Israeli solders on the scene shot and killed the attacker. The Palestinian man’s feet can be seen under the plastic cover. (Credit: EPA)

Israeli Police stand next to the covered body of Israeli soldier get killed in a stabbing attack in a gas station on Route 443 running through the West Bank from the large Israeli town of Modi’in to Jerusalem, near Beit Khoron, 23 November 2015. A Palestinian attacker stabbed to death an Israeli at a gas station north-west of Jerusalem, in the West Bank, before being caught and shot dead himself, the Israeli military said. (Credit: EPA)

Israeli Police stand next to the body of Israeli soldier who was attacked by a Palestinian in a gas station Route 443, a highway that runs through the West Bank from the large Israeli town of Modi’in to Jerusalem, near Beit Khoron, 23 November 2015. A Palestinian attacker stabbed to death an Israeli at a gas station north-west of Jerusalem, in the West Bank, before being caught and shot dead himself, the Israeli military said. (Credit: EPA)

VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH An Israeli soldier and medics gather around the body of an Israeli soldier who was stabbed and killed by a Palestinian at a petrol station before the Palestinian was shot dead by soldiers near the West Bank village of Khirbit Al-Misbah between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv November 23, 2015.  (Credit: REUTERS)

VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH The body of an Israeli soldier, who was stabbed and killed by a Palestinian at a petrol station, is covered near the West Bank village of Khirbit Al-Misbah between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv November 23, 2015.  (Credit: REUTERS)

An Israeli female soldier reacts at the scene where a Palestinian stabbed and killed an Israeli soldier at a petrol station before he was shot dead by soldiers near the West Bank village of Khirbit Al-Misbah between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv November 23, 2015.  (Credit: REUTERS)

An Israeli policeman walks at the scene where a Palestinian stabbed and killed an Israeli soldier at a petrol station before he was shot dead by soldiers near the West Bank village of Khirbit Al-Misbah between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv November 23, 2015.  (Credit: REUTERS)

Israeli medics stand at the scene where a Palestinian stabbed and killed an Israeli soldier at a petrol station before he was shot dead by soldiers, near the West Bank village of Khirbit Al-Misbah between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv November 23, 2015.  (Credit: REUTERS)

VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH Israeli soldiers and police stand near the body of a Palestinian, who stabbed and killed an Israeli soldier at a petrol station, after he was shot dead by soldiers near the West Bank village of Khirbit Al-Misbah between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv November 23, 2015.  (Credit: REUTERS)

VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH Israeli soldiers and police stand near the body of a Palestinian, who stabbed and killed an Israeli soldier at a petrol station, after he was shot dead by soldiers near the West Bank village of Khirbit Al-Misbah between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv November 23, 2015.  (Credit: REUTERS)

Israeli security personnel stand at the covered body of a Palestinian attacker who killed an Israel soldier in a gas station on Route 443 running through the West Bank from the large Israeli town of Modi’in to Jerusalem, near Beit Khoron, 23 November 2015. The attacker was shot and killed by Israeli security forces. One other Israeli soldier was wounded. (Credit: EPA)

An Israeli soldier stands near the bodies of two dead Palestinians who attacked Israeli soldiers at a gas station on Route 443 running through the West Bank from the large Israeli town of Modi’in to Jerusalem, near Beit Khoron, 23 November 2015. First reports say a female Israeli soldier was killed in the attack and another injured. The attacker was shot and killed by Israeli security forces. Feet can be seen at left, and a hand at right under plastic covering the dead. (Credit: EPA)

Israeli security personnel stand near the bodiy of a dead Palestinian attacker who killed an Israeli soldier at a gas station on Route 443 running through the West Bank from the large Israeli town of Modi’in to Jerusalem, near Beit Khoron, 23 November 2015. The attacker was shot and killed by Israeli security forces. (Credit: EPA)

An Israeli soldier stands guard at a gas station where a Palestinian attacker killed an Israel soldier on Route 443 running through the West Bank from the large Israeli town of Modi’in to Jerusalem, near Beit Khoron, 23 November 2015. The attacker was shot and killed by Israeli security forces. One other Israeli soldier was wounded. (Credit: EPA)

Black Spring Valley Mayor wants Spring Valley "Judenrein"

Black  Mayor Demeza Delhomme pledged to vote against all building permit applications by Jewish developers to retaliate against Jews for supporting political opponents, according to a secretly recorded conversation obtained exclusively by The Journal News....

Asked whether he would vote against, “anything a Jew brings,” Delhomme replied, “Yes,” during a conversation recorded last March at Village Hall.

Delhomme later said, “I swear to God. On the application. Any Jew that comes in.”

The mayor, who is Haitian, said if a Haitian brought the same application as a Jew, he would support it.

“I’m voting for them,” he said on the recording. “Because they voted for me. They supported me.”

Delhomme refused to answer a reporter's questions about the roughly 40-minute recording, but denies discriminating against anyone.

“Do you have proof that I have been discriminating against anybody?” he asked a reporter. “If you don’t have proof of it, stay the hell away from me," he said as he hung up the phone.

The black  mayor, like members of the Board of Trustees, can vote on special permit applications by developers that require public hearings.

His rant was part of a political strategy to pressure Trustee Asher Grossman, who is an Orthodox Jew, to support his agenda, so he could obtain majority control of the board, according to a lawsuit by three village residents that seeks to remove Delhomme from office for misconduct and corruption.

The lawsuit claims it's part of a broader pattern of discrimination that includes telling a building official not to issue permits to two Jewish developers last January and obstructing a Jewish applicant from obtaining a public hearing the following month.

The man who made the recording isn't being identified by the newspaper because he fears retaliation. Excerpts of the recording, which hasn't been introduced in court, are being made public for the first time by the The Journal News.

Delhomme can be heard questioning why Jews backed Trustee Vilair Fonvil, who is Haitian, calling it a "stupid thing" for them to think they could team with Fonvil to "destroy" him.

“Ha!,” he said. “I’m the mayor for four years … I can take a few things from the agenda. Vilair can talk. He can vote. I tell the building department, “Don’t put in there" and I’m done. Let them go to court. Go to court fighting. What the (expletive) I care? ... I’m not going to be in court.”

Delhomme threatened to reduce floor area ratio (FAR) requirements which control the size of buildings that can be constructed.

“I can change all the zoning back where it’s supposed to be," he said. "Crush everybody. Crrrk. That’s it. I can put it 30. I could drop it down from 60 where it is and put it at 20. Who’s gonna beat me? I did it and everybody's gonna be dead.”

He backed up the threat, the lawsuit says, ordering a study, without consulting with the village board, to reduce FAR requirements in residential zones. In some zones, the study proposes reducing FAR requirements from .65 to .35.

Michael Kauker, a development consultant for the village, doesn't recall who asked for the study, but spoke to Delhomme, Fonvil and Building Inspector Walter Booker about it, he said. Booker declined to comment. Kauker's memo about the study was sent to Delhomme and the trustees last September.

Fonvil said that black Delhomme, "went on by himself to the consultant ... to do a study without our permission," adding that it cost more than $1,000 and would harm Jews economically if the FAR requirements were changed.

"He would hit them where it hurts because we have a lot of Jewish developers in Ramapo and the village," Fonvil said. "Something like that would hurt their business.”

At one point, Delhomme can also be heard saying he holds the key to who receives Section 8 public housing assistance. He also complained that he never received an apology for being called anti-Semitic in the past.

“I was hurt, my family was hurt,” he said. “Then I become the mayor. You coming after me. I’m gonna show you who’s the boss. You hurt me twice. I’m not gonna let you hurt me three times.”

Delhomme's lawyer, Kevin Conway, declined comment on the lawsuit and recording.

It’s not the first time the mayor has been accused of making anti-Semitic remarks. Twelve years ago, when he was a trustee, Delhomme said during his weekly cable television show that all Jews have food stamps and rely on Section 8.

When Rabbi Justin Schwartz, who lives in Spring Valley, exposed the mayor’s remarks at the time, Delhomme called him a person with "20 horns on his head, raping our community at large.”

“It’s outrageous,” said Schwartz of Delhomme's latest rant. “He shouldn’t be in office. He’s a rabid anti-Semitic individual. A leopard don't change his spots."

It's the latest controversy for Delhomme who declared himself "king" of the village during an outburst in June. A state assemblyman recently accused him of twice interfering  with a school construction project and potentially putting students' safety at risk. The newspaper previously reported Delhomme was investigated for misconduct after DPW employees, on village time, tried to install a generator at his girlfriend's house before a snowstorm.

The Anti-Defamation League also condemned the mayor's comments. “If the facts alleged are true, they are quite troubling,” said Evan Bernstein, director of ADL's New York Regional Office. “Singling out of any religious or ethnic group is unacceptable, especially by an elected official.”

Sister of woman who took her own life hangs herself in Brooklyn

The older sister of a 30-year-old Hasidic woman who jumped to her death in July has died after hanging herself, a law-enforcement official said.'
Sara Mayer, 31, was found early Sunday afternoon by her parents inside their Borough Park home, friends and family told the Daily News.
Sara suffered from mental illness and had been hospitalized multiple times, her loved ones added.

KEN MURRAY/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

The sister of Faigy Mayer, who committed suicide in July, has now been found dead in her home an apparent suicide.

She was scheduled to move into a group home on Tuesday, the law-enforcement official said. She was home gathering her stuff before the visit.

"The parents are devastated," said Jack Meyer, the founder of Masaskim, a Jewish burial group. "They don't know what hit them."

In July, her younger sister Faigy Mayer, 30, went to 230 Fifth Rooftop Bar, climbed onto the ledge of a terrace with outdoor seating and leaped to the sidewalk. She died at the scene.

KEN MURRAY/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Sara Mayer, 31, was found by her parents in their Brooklyn home.

The suicide garnered headlines because party goers inside the bar -- who apparently didn't realize what happened -- continued to drink and dine.

Before her death, the younger Faigy Mayer railed against rigid religious practices and worried about her relatives growing up in the Belz Hasidic sect.

"It isn't fair to them that they have to live their lives the way they do," she wrote in the email dated July 12, shortly before her suicide. "The most fun they have is to color with crayons."

FAIGY MAYER VIA FACEBOOKEnlarge

FAIGY MAYER VIA FACEBOOKEnlarge

30-year-old Faigy Mayer, sister of Sara, jumped to her death from a Flatiron rooftop bar in July.

She wrote that her three nephews were barred from playing games on a smartphone or watching television.

The young women's parents struggled to care for Sara Mayer during multiple bouts of extreme depression, loved ones said.

"It's a sad story," said Meyer Mark Appel, founder of Voice of Justice, a child advocacy group. "She was very depressed."

Outside the home, a neighbor, who declined to give his name, also noted she struggled with mental illness.

"She wasn't ok," the man said.

Pollard Free

Senator Elizabeth Warren silent on Murder of Young Ezra Schwartz that is from her State

Two Cowards Liz warren & Ed Marky of Mass.

By Guest Blogger Yigal Gross

This week, in response to calls for the United States government to stop taking in Syrian refugees following last week’s horrific terrorist attack in Paris, Senator Elizabeth Warren uttered words that must now seem terribly ironic to her constituents.

"These events test us. It is easy to proclaim that we are tough and brave and good-hearted when threats feel far away — but when those threats loom large and close by, our actions will strip away our tough talk and reveal who we really are."


Not two days after Ms. Warren made those impassioned remarks on the Senate floor, one of Ms. Warren’s own constituents, eighteen-year-old Ezra Schwartz from Sharon, Massachusetts, was gunned down by a Palestinian terrorist in Israel, together with two other innocent civilians.  

In response, the sanctimonious senator said nothing.

And that is not because Ms. Warren has a difficult time speaking. On November 18th, the day before Ezra Schwartz was murdered, Ms. Warren’s official Twitter account sent out more tweets than a sparrow in mating season — 11– about lobbyists, tax reform and the Economic Policy’s Women’s Economic Agenda. 

The day before that, Ms. Warren went to the Senate floor to deliver her remarks about Syrian refugees. And, lest anyone doubt Ms. Warren’s ability to multitask, she sent out tweets both before her speech (“Heading to the Senate floor now…”) and after her speech (“…Today I spoke about what I saw”). Yet she could not spare even a character for the beautiful young boy with the sweet smile from her home state.

And she was not alone in that silence. 

The other senator from Massachusetts, Ed Markey, joined her in silent solidarity. 

Mr. Markey sent out 8 tweets in the time following the murder. Not one was about his murdered constituent or the Massachusetts family and community devastated by his murder. Perhaps that was because Mr. Markey had more important and pressing subjects to talk about, like reflecting on the lives touched by Robert F. Kennedy (a man 47 years dead) and giving kudos to those trying to raise the age for using tobacco to 21 (because, clearly, Senator Markey really cares about young people dying).

And that silence goes all the way up the Democratic ladder to the Obama administration. 

Yes, the same administration that never hesitates to throw loud, public hissy fits when Israel constructs some shacks on disputed territory was eerily mum when an American citizen was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in cold blood. It asked both sides to show restraint. Because, clearly, a terrorist pumping bullets into a car full of unarmed civilians is complex, two-sided issue.

And that is precisely the point. It is not complex at all. It is actually rather simple — terrorists killed a young American boy who went abroad to study in Israel, just like terrorists killed Nohemi Gonzalez, a young American woman who went abroad to study in Paris. Just like terrorists killed Anita Datar, a young American woman who went to promote healthcare and education in Mali, and just like terrorists killed Steven Satloff, an American reporter, in Syria. 

Yet, unlike the murders of Gonzalez, Datar and Satloff, which were extensively covered and widely condemned, Ezra’s murder received little coverage and condemnation in liberal circles.

Why?

Does Ms. Warren think that Ezra was somehow less innocent because he was in Israel rather than in Paris or Mali? 

Does Mr. Markey think that the suffering of Ezra’s family and community specifically and Jews or Israelis generally is somehow less genuine and terrible than the suffering of the Gonzalez and the Datar families, or the suffering of Syrian refugees?  

And does Mr. Obama think that Mr. Schwartz would still be alive if he “showed restraint”?  In the wake of the slaughter in Paris, did he ask 

To quote a prominent Senator, “These events test us. It is easy to proclaim that we are tough and brave and good-hearted.” 

And, I would add, that it is easy to pay lip service to caring about your constituents and having zero tolerance for the terrorists who harm them.

 But in the end, our actions “…reveal who we really are.”

Avis Car Rental Bars Israeli Executive from Renting in New York City

Upper West Side clerk and manager defy company policy, decline Israel passport and license

By Ken Kurson • 11/22/15 9:00am

On Saturday evening, Dov Bergwerk arrived at the Avis branch on West 76thStreet and Broadway. Accompanied by his wife Ruth, the Bergwerks were planning to join friends for dinner in Westchester. Mr. Bergwerk, a senior vice president and general corporate counsel at the Israeli pharmaceutical giant Teva, got out his driver’s license, reservation number and “Wizard” loyalty card – he’s rented from Avis dozens of times before – and anticipated the usual smooth transition into a nondescript mid-sized sedan.

That’s when the trouble started.

A reservation agent named Angelline declined to honor Mr. Bergwerk’s reservation, saying that it was company policy not to recognize Israeli documents. Stunned, Mr. Bergwerk explained that he had rented from Avis many times, including a car from that very same office on Thursday, November 19 – only two days earlier.

Mr. Bergwerk asked Angelline to access the profile attached to his Wizard card, which shows that he is an executive at a giant multinational company who has no regulatory issues and has rented from Avis, including at that very branch, many times without incident. She refused. They argued.

Eventually, a manager was called. Shamoura took the side of her reservation agent, also refusing to honor Mr. Bergwerk’s reservation or recognize his documents. Stunned and stranded on a Saturday night in New York, Mr. Bergwerk called the Avis main number and got through to customer service. The representative confirmed to him that the Israeli license was an acceptable form of ID and also mentioned that he could show his passport to ameliorate any ID concerns the on-site employees had. Mr. Bergwerk put the customer service representative on the phone with Shamoura, the branch manager, and at this point the story evolved. She now claimed that she was declining to rent the Bergwerks a car not because of the insufficient documents but because Mr. Bergwerk had “argued about the way I was being treated in front of other customers,” according to Mr. Bergwerk.

Avis reservation agent Angelline (white shirt) and her manager Shamoura declined to rent a car to an Israeli executive. Both refused to provide their last names.

The Observer asked Mr. Bergwerk if he felt that, in the heart of Manhattan’s progressive activist community, he was being singled out for being an Israeli.

“While no direct reference was made to being anti Israel, that was my impression almost from the initial moment I presented my license and credit card as I have done over 15 years of business and leisure travel without ever being challenged. The agent stated that the Israeli license did not have the required info in English. I tried to demonstrate that the license had all the required info but she and the manager had no interest. Similarly, the fact that I have had many rentals at Avis and at this location was dismissed as having been ‘done by new employees.'”

New Jersey based Avis, owned by the Avis Budget Group (which also owns Budget Rent a Car and Zipcar), is one of the largest car rental companies in the world, with almost 5500 locations in 165 countries. The company has yet to respond to the Observer’s request for comment; this story will be updated to include an Avis response should it be forthcoming.

Ruth Bergwerk confirmed her husband’s version of events, telling the Observer, “Of course it was embarrassing. They wouldn’t even open our reservation and see that we have an Avis wizard number or that we had rented a car from the same location 2 days before. There was no way they would rent a car with that license. There was no way to reason with them.” According to both Mr. and Ms. Bergwerk, Angelline and Shamoura would not even provide their last names or employee ID numbers. Observer reporting confirmed that the manager is Shamoura Welch-Robinson, who has worked for Avis since April 2014, according to her LinkedIn page.

Shamoura Welch-Robinson is the manager of the UWS branch that declined to honor an Israeli executive’s reservation. (LinkedIn)

Mr. Bergwerk said, “I felt that something very ugly was going on. Discriminated against. When you deny someone a service and they present the ability to pay for that service and they dismiss you like your money isn’t good here, It’s very demeaning.”

The Israeli government provides a list of countries that recognize an Israel Driving License; as a close ally, the US has among the most generous policies and even Turkey and Singapore do so. Meanwhile, the Bergwerks never made it to Westchester last night. In something short of a tragedy—but with ominous overtones for those carrying Israeli documents—according to Ms. Bergwerk, “Our plans for the evening were ruined.”

It wasn’t just dinner. According to Mr. Bergwerk, “I was also planning a very personal visit this morning out of New York to a cemetery but [now] will not go.