A hotel in Bosnia and Herzegovina has cancelled a group booking for a European rabbinical delegation following criticism of Israel’s ongoing conflict in Gaza as ‘genocide’ by one of the country’s ministers.
Rooms for 50 delegates from The Conference of European Rabbis (CER) at the Swissotel in the capital Sarajevo had been confirmed and flights booked ahead of the annual meeting of chief rabbis from all over Europe, including France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, due to take place Monday 16th to Wednesday 18th June.
The event discusses European Jewish issues including rising antisemitism, religious freedoms and the future of Jewish life on the continent.
A note sent to the organisation and seen by Jewish News strongly suggests that Swissotel, owned by global hospitality company Accor Group, was pressurised into cancelling the booking following the publication of an open letter written by the federal minister of labour and social policy, Adnan Delic, which was also published in the Bosnian press.
Delic’s letter says that as a city of “openness and hospitality…it is illogical, deeply unacceptable, and even morally offensive, that in Sarajevo, a city that has survived the longest siege in modern European history, a city where children have been killed, hospitals have been targeted and markets have been shelled, a gathering is being organized from which support is being sent to the occupier who, every day, in front of the eyes of the whole world, commits genocide against the innocent civilian population of Gaza.”
Adnan Delic
He called “on the organisers to immediately cancel the conference in Sarajevo, and on all relevant institutions to prevent its realisation, and on citizens and civil society organisations not to remain silent in the face of this attempt to morally humiliate our capital and our country.”
In his letter, he calls Israel a “genocidal entity” committing “shameful crimes against humanity.”
A spokesperson from the CER told Jewish News that they had specifically been invited to the city and eagerly accepted, believing that “anywhere we are invited there is potential to have a wider and positive impact on the city. We hadn’t been to Sarajevo before and it has an interesting Jewish history.”
Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, the president of the Conference of European Rabbis, affixes a mezuzah to the doorframe of the Centre for Jewish Life in Munich, Germany on September 19, 2023. Photo Credits: Rober Gongoll, CER
The letter from Swissotel cancelling the CER booking says: “Following recent developments and significant public attention related to the upcoming event, we are unfortunately unable to proceed with hosting the conference at our venue.”
It adds that “in light of the current circumstances and based on the information and instructions from the authorities, with the aim of ensuring the safety of all participants and protecting our staff and property, we must cancel all previously agreed arrangements.”
The hotel promises to refund all monies in full and says “we deeply regret the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding.”
In a statement, Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the CER, said: “No other Bosnian government official has contacted the Conference of European Rabbis. We have been made unwelcome and this last-minute, ministerial boycott of Jewish European citizens, dedicated to purely to promoting Jewish life in Europe and furthering dialogue and democracy across the continent, is disgraceful.”
He added that CER events “foster dialogue, boost interfaith activity, and promote public engagement. It is Sarajevo’s loss” and said the decision “to block a European-Jewish conference on European soil is not only alarming, but also revealing.
He called the decision “a clear violation of EU commitments and values (The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Article 10 and 22; The European Council Declaration on Antisemitism, 2020). Bosnia and Herzegovina should certainly be cancelled and barred from accession to the European Union following this disgraceful castigation of a European faith group. Sarajevo has proclaimed itself a “city of openness and tolerance” for anyone but Jews.”
The conference is now being relocated to the CER’s headquarters in Munich, Germany. The CER is the umbrella organisation representing more than 1,000 mainstream Orthodox Jewish communities across the continent.
Jewish News has contacted Swissotel for comment.
