“No Sleds for Jews” — Swiss Ski Resort Accused of Antisemitism

A scandal is brewing at Swiss ski resort Davos, Switzerland, where a sign in Hebrew was photographed and subsequently shared on social media which stated that sleds (and other sports gear) would no longer be rented to Jewish guests. Zurich-based Jehuda Spielman spotted the sign at the Pischa gondola station in the Davos ski area. The sign reads in English, “Due to various very annoying incidents, including the theft of a sled, we no longer rent sports equipment to our Jewish brothers. This applies to all sports equipment such as sleds, airboards, skis, and snowshoes. Thank you for your understanding.”

In interviews with Swiss newspapers, the operators of Pischa’s gondola station defended their decision, stating:

“Unfortunately, it is absolutely not an isolated case, these are everyday occurences we have had to deal with. We have Jewish guests who want to rent sleds in street shoes, then simply leave them on the slopes and request the rescue service even though they are not injured. We then have to collect the sleds again if they can still be found. We have highly pregnant women who don’t want to understand why we don’t want to rent them any equipment. We don’t get sleds and airboards back at all or they are returned broken and no one claims responsibility. Items that other guests have rented and deposited at our shop during lunch are stolen for “test drives” behind the station house. The best places on the terrace or in the restaurant are populated with “picnickers”, although everyone knows that you also have to consume in a Swiss restaurant. Where is the decency towards us and our paying guests? We no longer want to bear the risk that at some point one of these guests will cause a serious accident and hold us accountable for it. We no longer want the daily agger and decide that we make use of our right to decide who can rent our property and who can’t. If certain tourist groups do not want to adhere to the minimum rules of decency in their host country, this is their problem, which they could easily solve by adapting to the practises in Switzerland. The fact that we then no longer want to rent anything to them has nothing to do with faith, skin colour or personal inclinations, but only with the fact that we no longer feel like having these daily discussions and aggrevations!
With kind regards
Mountain restaurant Pischa”

While the frustration is certainly understandable by the operators of the gondola station, it is shocking that the decision was made to discriminate against a religious group, rather than find other measures to rectify the situation, such as a deposit system or the posting of general signs to educate the general public.

The conflict in Davos between locals and Jewish Orthodox tourists has been brewing for a while. Davos has been a popular summer and winter holiday destination for orthodox Jews from many countries. As they are easily identifiable by their clothing, the poor behavior of a few guests has led to an uprising in antisemitic comments and discrimination. The Davos Tourism manager Reto Branschi met with the Swiss Israeli Organization (SIG) to move forward in a more amicable way but ended up canceling the cooperation. Davos hospitality staff as well as locals have been complaining that orthodox Jewish tourists have been rude, found littering, obstructing others from recreational activities, and breaking other local rules or customs. While there are certainly many other people behaving in such ways, Jewish Orthodox tourists are easilty identifiable by their garments, hair, and head pieces, making them an easy target.

The Swiss police have confirmed the case is under investigation for discrimination.

It is not the first time a Swiss ski resort has come under fire for discrimination against Jewish tourists. In 2017, a hotel in Arosa came under fire for asking Jewish guests specifically to shower before using the pool.