California Hotel Fires Employee After Confrontation With Israeli Guests

A California hotel employee was removed from his position after video of an exchange with an Israeli couple circulated online. The footage captured the worker asking the guests whether they were Zionists or had served in the Israel Defense Forces. Oceanpoint Ranch stated that the conduct shown did not meet its standards of professionalism and respect.

The hotel added that it had apologized to the guests and confirmed the employee was no longer working there.

After the termination became public, the former employee launched a GoFundMe seeking financial support while looking for new work. The campaign description stated he had been let go for speaking about events in the Middle East and noted he was open to any employment opportunities.

By Monday afternoon the fundraiser had collected more than $13,000, exceeding its original $7,500 target by 78 percent. The incident occurred at Oceanpoint Ranch and was recorded earlier in the week. Clips of the exchange have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times online.