World
Israelis kicked out of restaurant and refused entry to campsite in Austria
Two separate incidents of Israelis facing discrimination in Austria, have surfaced in the past week
July 28, 2025 14:00
Two separate incidents of Israelis facing discrimination in Austria, have surfaced in the past week
July 28, 2025 14:00A prominent Israeli musician has claimed he was kicked out of a Vienna café after staff overheard him speaking Hebrew.
Amit Peled, an internationally renowned cellist and conductor, was dining with fellow musicians, violinist Hagai Shaham and pianist Julia Gurvitch, when they were allegedly asked to leave.
Peled told i24News: "We sat there, three Israelis, very gently, quite polite and quite well-known in our field, the classical music field.
"We spoke Hebrew because we are Israelis. I also speak German so I ordered the food for everyone.
"When the waiter came back he realised I spoke Hebrew and [was] asking me directly 'what are you speaking now'.
"I said Hebrew, he looked me in the eyes and said 'well stand up and leave, because I'm not serving you'.
According to JNS, the restaurant is in Vienna’s 2nd district known as Leopoldstadt, which had one of the highest concentrations of Jews in the city before the Holocaust.
Writing on social media, Peled said: “The initial shock and humiliation were profound. But what struck us even more deeply was what came next — or rather, what didn’t. The people around us were clearly startled, some offered sympathetic glances... and then, quietly, they went back to their dinners, their conversations, their wine— as though nothing had happened. Welcome to Europe, 2025.”
JNS sought to contact the restaurant’s staff and its owner for comment.
Separately, another Israeli man, Nissan Dekalo, and his wife claim they were denied entry to a campsite in Austria last week.
According to a report by Israel’s Channel 12 TV station, when the couple tried to park their mobile home, a representative of the business told them: “There’s no place for Israelis here, get out.”
Seeking comment, JNS called the number advertised for the campground on Sunday and spoke to a woman who declined to give her name and stated only, “Yes, this thing did not happen” before hanging up.
Dekalo and his family are residents of Kibbutz Nahal Oz – one of the Kibbutzim that were invaded by Hamas terrorists on October 7th.
On October 7, Dekalo fought Hamas terrorists for 13 hours as deputy commander of the kibbutz’s emergency team, while his wife and children were hiding in their home shelter. 15 residents of the kibbutz were murdered and eight were taken hostage – including Matan Angrest, Itay Chen and Omri Miran, who remain in captivity in Gaza.
Speaking to Haaretz in May this year, Dekalo – who was in Austria with his wife to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary – said: "I take responsibility for the hundreds of Nahal Oz residents who survived and walked out on their own two feet thanks to my fighting... But I also must take responsibility for those who were murdered or taken hostage. I can't just take responsibility for what's convenient."
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