Reaction to the sledding ban on Jews in Davos: The tenant of the mountain restaurant apologized for the warning

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His warning caused many problems. Now Ruedi Pfiffner (61), the tenant of the Pischa mountain restaurant, is returning.

What happened?

A post by Zurich local councilor Jehuda Spielman on the X platform on Sunday received many comments. Content of the post: According to the announcement Spielman added to his post, the Pischa mountain station in Davos GR is not supposed to rent sports equipment such as sleds or skis to Jews. “Various annoying events” were given as the reason.

The notice was written in Hebrew. Jewish winter sports fans had to read this at the mountain station: “Due to various very frustrating incidents, including the theft of the sled, we no longer rent sports equipment to our Jewish brothers. “This applies to all sports equipment such as sleds, airboards, skis and snowshoes,” he said. The Jewish X community reacted with horror. “I am speechless” or “incredible discrimination” can be read in the comments. According to Spielman, there must have been other anti-Semitic announcements in Pischa.

This measure was also not welcomed by the Union of Swiss Jewish Communities. “It is shocking that such a letter would be publicly posted on a Swiss mountain. Secretary General Jonathan Kreutner said in a statement to “20 Minutes” that the content was extremely discriminatory and anti-Semitic. “Even if the company has isolated bad experiences, that’s no reason to generalize them,” He adds.

Kreutner also announced on Monday that he would take legal action against CH Media: “We will file a complaint after violating the criminal law against racism.” The cantonal police of Grisons have already started investigations. There is suspicion of incitement to discrimination and hatred.

The Foundation Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (GRA) also made a statement. “This is not only a worrying act of exclusion, but also a clear violation of the fundamental principles of equal treatment and respect and a form of anti-Semitism,” the GRA writes. And it provides a possible solution for a specific situation: deposit of deposit or ID card.

This is how Pischa Mountain restaurant reacted to the allegations

Apparently they did not expect such violent reactions. “This has absolutely nothing to do with anti-Semitism,” Ruedi Pfiffner, a tenant of the Mount Pisch restaurant, told Blick Monday afternoon. “The statement was clearly misstated and for that I apologize.” Pfiffner has had many wonderful and wonderful experiences with Jewish guests: “We still welcome them. “I am willing to talk to those affected,” Pfiffner said. The letter has now been removed. In the video, he explains the conditions under which the notification was created.

In its first statement, the Pischa mountain restaurant explains the announcement to “20 Minutes”: “We do not want any more daily hassle and therefore we exercise our right to decide who can rent our property and who cannot.” Jewish guests regularly left sleds and other equipment on the slopes. “We need to collect the sleds again if they can still be found.” Additionally, sleds and air boards are often not returned.

“We no longer want to take the risk that one of these guests will at some point cause a serious accident and hold us responsible,” the officers said. Guests must adapt to Swiss rules and traditions in their own way. “The fact that we no longer want to rent anything to them has nothing to do with faith, skin color or personal preferences; it just has to do with the fact that we no longer want to experience these daily arguments and frictions,” the statement said.

Swiss Tourism speaks of a “regrettable incident”

Last year, Davos Tourism CEO Reto Branschi (64) was already upset about Jewish guests. “Some of this group of guests clearly have problems complying with the rules of coexistence here in Davos,” he told the “Davoser Zeitung”. He complained about waste and disrespectful treatment of nature.

Branschi distances himself from the announcement, describing it in understatements compared to “20 Minutes.” “This does not represent the attitude of the destination and the tourism providers in our town,” he makes clear.

Swiss Tourism spokesman Markus Berger condemned the “unfortunate incident” at the Davos-Pischa mountain station. Such statements are completely unacceptable. But he argues that there is no “systemic problem”: “The Swiss Alps region is a favorite destination for Jewish Orthodox travelers, and in most cases our Jewish guests are also quite satisfied.”

Berger does not expect any loss of image in Switzerland as a whole due to this incident. There is currently no reason for Swiss Tourism to take specific measures. Since 2019, Switzerland Tourism, in collaboration with Hotelleriesuisse and the Swiss-Israeli Community Association (SIG), has been offering hosts a brochure called “Jewish Guests in Switzerland”. The purpose of this is to avoid ambiguities and misunderstandings in relations with Jewish guests.

Source :Blick