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No Israelis allowed, says British Airbnb

After discovering that incoming guest was Israeli, operator of vacation apartment in England cancels reservation, saying they ‘can’t condone the war.’

By World Israel News Staff

The operator of a vacation apartment in Oxford, England, is refusing to serve Israeli clients, cancelling the reservation booked by an Israeli tourist after learning she holds Israeli citizenship.

On Tuesday, Yedioth Aharanoth reported that author and anthropologist Dr. Darya Maoz was being refused service at an Airbnb apartment, after the operator discovered that she was Israeli.

Two months ago, Maoz made a reservation for the vacation apartment for a July trip to England.

Recently, however, she received a message from the operator, identified only by their first name, Anila, requesting that she withdraw the reservation, citing her Israeli citizenship and referencing the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

“Hello I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you are coming from Israel. Could you please book a different house? I will give you a full refund,” Anila wrote.

Maoz pushed back on the request, writing: “I can’t, no place left at all. It is illegal to do so. I don’t believe you are asking for that. Very insulted.”

Anila insisted, linking the reservation to the Gaza war.

“I’m sorry, but I can not condone the war. I have my principals, I am a Muslim. I can not allow that.”

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Speaking with Yedioth Aharanoth, Maoz said she was shocked by the “racist and antisemitic” cancellation.

“I was in shock. Who would believe I would receive such a message, canceling our reservation right before our trip, for such a racist and antisemitic reason.”

The incident is the latest in a string of cases in which venues have cancelled reservations booked by Israelis after learning of their nationality.

In June, a Paris hotel refused to honor a reservation made by an Arab-Israeli family, leaving the family of three out on the street in the middle of the night.

In Japan, the Hotel Material in Kyoto nixed an Israeli man’s reservation and informed him that the venue could not do business with him due to alleged war crimes in Gaza and his possible ties to the IDF.