An Israeli tourist traveling in Japan was forced to sign an affidavit stating his non-involvement in war crimes after he attempted to check in, according to a Ynet report.
The tourist attempted to check in for a stay at the Wind Villa Hotel in the ancient capital of Kyoto, but upon presenting his Israeli passport at the desk, he was given a form that declared his non-involvement in war crimes or face refusal of service.
The tourist reportedly served in the Israeli Navy as a combat medic.
The tourist told Ynet that “Among the sections in this document was that I did not rape, murder people who raised a white flag, or commit a war crime. This is absurd and ridiculous. I told him that we do not kill women and children, why would we do that?”
He initially refused to sign the form, explaining to the clerk that he was not interested in “getting into politics.” The hotel employee replied that every Israeli or Russian guest was required to sign it.
“In the end, I decided to sign because I have nothing to hide. This statement is true because I did not commit war crimes, and no IDF soldier commits war crimes. I signed because I did not want to get into trouble and also because this form is worthless,” he told Ynet. “This specific person [the clerk] has nothing against Israel. He is very supportive of peace. I also do not think he is antisemitic, he simply does not feed on the correct information.”
A violation of Japan’s hotel law
The tourist referred the incident to the Israeli Ambassador to Japan, Gilad Cohen, and sent a letter to Kyoto Prefecture Governor Takatoshi Nishiwaki raising concerns over discriminatory practices in Kyoto’s hospitality sector.
“This discriminatory act, based solely on nationality, caused the guest significant emotional distress and discomfort,” the ambassador wrote. “We view this incident as extremely serious and unacceptable. This incident constitutes a blatant violation of Japan’s Hotel Business Law and the values of equality and non-discrimination that we believe are shared by our two nations. What is particularly concerning is that this is not an isolated incident.”
Nishiwaki informed Cohen that the matter had been referred to the Kyoto municipality and that it had opened an investigation into the incident on suspicion of a violation of the Hotel Law.
