Hotel Incident Sparks Controversy Over Anti-Semitic Remarks

A couple from California experienced shocking anti-Semitism during their stay when a hotel worker confronted them with, “Are you a baby killer?” This exchange was captured in a video that circulated on social media.

The incident reportedly occurred Thursday at Oceanside Ranch in Cambria, California. A representative from the hotel confirmed the details.

The confrontation started after a female guest, who holds dual Israeli citizenship, reacted to an employee saying “Liberate Palestine” as the couple left the lobby, as described in the video caption.

The video shows the employee asserting, “All I said was freedom for Palestine,” although the initial interaction leading to the dispute wasn’t recorded.

The female guest responded by demanding that the staff treat all hotel guests fairly and stated that they should feel “ashamed of themselves.”

Following this, hotel personnel proceeded to ask a series of inflammatory questions, including whether they were “Zionists,” “baby killers,” or had served in the Israel Defense Forces.

The man did not engage with the staff during the video, focusing instead on speaking Hebrew with the woman, while she directed questions at the employees.

A social media caption described the man as “a diabolical moron,” who was mute when confronted about his identity as a “dirty Zionist.”

Angel Gonzalez, the hotel’s general manager, acknowledged the video’s existence. He noted that the behavior displayed did not align with the hotel’s standards of professionalism and hospitality and that they had initiated an internal review.

According to Gonzalez, the establishment has reached out to the couple to address their concerns and offered an apology. He also mentioned that the employee involved has resigned.

The employee, identified as 24-year-old Ryan Smith, reportedly has active military ties. In a statement, he claimed he was terminated for voicing concerns about what he called genocide and ethnic cleansing in the Middle East.

The video has gone viral, amassing over 400,000 views on Instagram alone, and has drawn widespread condemnation from various quarters, including Israeli author Hen Matzig and Leo Torell, chairman of the Justice Department’s anti-Semitism task force.

Torell remarked, “If true, this is outrageous. Firing is not enough! This hotel needs to be investigated. One firing isn’t sufficient.”