Pro-Israel Group in Shock Over Hotel’s Alleged Response to ‘Pro-Palestinian and Pro-Hamas’ Threats
A conservative legal firm is accusing a Tennessee hotel of canceling a pro-Israel meeting and demanding the establishment honor its commitment to the organizing party. First Liberty, a religious freedom firm, sent a letter Monday to Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel in Nashville, urging the hotel to “fulfill its contractual obligation to HaYovel, a Christian ministry that was scheduled to hold a summit supporting Israel at the hotel next week,” according to a press release.
The firm’s attorneys accused the hotel of breaching “its contractual obligation,” condemning the alleged actions and criticizing the hotel for reportedly canceling The Israel Summit, a conference for pro-Israel supporters who believe the nation has a right to the holy land where it currently resides. Luke Hilton, director of marketing for HaYovel—a group that brings volunteers to Israel to help support the Jewish state—told CBN News he received a call just 10 days before the event, scheduled for May 20-22, 2024, informing him that the hotel was no longer willing to host.
“They decided to cancel our contract due to pressure from pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas groups, making phone calls,” he said, noting the hotel cited safety concerns in making the decision. “It’s a complete shock to us and, obviously, very last minute.” Hilton said HaYovel pledged to help provide increased security for the event and to do “whatever was needed to make sure everyone was safe.” However, the hotel reportedly was not persuaded by these offers.
The Israel Summit is set to include speakers from Israel and other locations. First Liberty has pleaded with Sonesta to reverse its decision. Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for the law firm, told CBN News he is concerned about several matters surrounding the cancellation.
“There’s obviously a contract dispute issue,” he said. “But, more importantly, there’s a federal law, The Civil Rights Act Title II. The Civil Rights Act prohibits places of public accommodation from discriminating based upon religion and other things as well.” Sasser continued, “In this case, what you have is agitators and protesters who are anti-Semitic, and they do not want this group to support the Jewish people or Israel because of the religion of the people they are trying to support. That’s their motivation.”
Watch him explain.
