A British Rabbi Tried to Book a French Vacation. Then He Was Asked to Condemn Israel.

What began as a routine request for a family vacation in France ended with an extraordinary demand. A Jewish rabbi from London tried to book a holiday in France, but after completing the reservation and paying half the cost, he was asked to state his position on Israel as a condition for having his stay approved, according to a report published today (Monday) on the mako website.

The 45-year-old rabbi booked an August vacation in a rural area of France for himself, his wife, and their children. After paying the deposit, he received an email from the property owners with a requirement that had not been mentioned earlier. Only at that stage was he told that moving forward with the booking depended on answering questions about his political views and his attitude toward Israel.

The message sent to him read: "Can you confirm for us that you are a member of a progressive and liberal Jewish movement, and that this movement condemns the violent actions of the Israeli army, under the instruction of the Israeli government, in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and more recently in Lebanon? If this is not the case, unfortunately we cannot offer you accommodation, as this contradicts our principles."

The rabbi, who serves as the rabbi of the Finchley United Synagogue, is also a member of a committee dealing with Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day in Britain and leads trips to Poland. He said: "I see this as the equivalent of the 'Jews are not welcome here' signs of the 1930s." He added: "I am very sad. This is a purity test, and if you are not part of what is seen as the good Jews, you are considered what are seen as the bad Jews."

The incident comes amid a rise in antisemitic cases in France since the October 7 massacre. In the country, home to the largest Jewish community in Western Europe, numbering about half a million people, there has been a sharp increase in the number of antisemitic incidents in recent years. In 2025, 1,320 antisemitic acts were documented — a figure three times higher than the number of cases recorded in 2022.