Rosenberg. Disappointed
Photo: Niv Calderon
Kippah. No entry
Photo: Dudu Bechar
Refused entry to bar 'because of kippah'
Italian Jew in visit to Israel told he cannot enter popular club because he wears kippah. Owners: 'This was misunderstanding'
David Rosenberg, a 30-year-old diamond dealer from Belgium, went through a very unpleasant experience last weekend when he went out with friends in Tel Aviv on a Saturday night. Rosenberg claims that a Bar located on Tel Aviv's promenade refused to let his cousin into the place, simply because he was wearing a kippah.
"I went out to party with a group of friends at the Clara club," Rosenberg told Ynet. "My cousin, an Italian Jew, came to Israel to get married, and we were planning some sort of a bachelor party for him."
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"At about 1 a.m. we arrived at the place and bumped into the doorman, Doron, whom I know from when he used to work at the Erlich pub. This time he looked through me as if I was made out of air and didn't respond when I asked him to let us in," Rosenberg recounted.
Rosenberg called up one of the club's owners he claims to know, who said only Rosenberg can be allowed into the place.
Selection at club's entrance
"After waiting about an hour outside I phoned one of the other owners, Shachar, who came out and told the bouncer who to let in. Doron signaled us to enter one by one, and when my cousin, who wears a black kippah, wanted to proceed, Doron simply said, "him I can't allow in."
According to Rosenberg, when he asked Shachar why his cousin was denied entry, he told him: "I can't let him in, he's wearing a kippah."
"The bouncer told us that even if we spend a hundred thousand shekels in the place, he cannot go in," he said, adding that at this point the group left the club.
Rosenberg, who plans to sue the place for NIS 100,000 (roughly USD 23,000), is still furious about the incident: "I used to come to the Erlich in the past with Arabs from the territories who were my clients. Although the owners asked me not to move around with them too much, and to remain seated by the table, I was allowed in nonetheless. How is it possible they don't let a religious Jew in?"
Denied entry because of age?
Rosenberg's cousin said he had never encountered such treatment, neither in Italy nor in Israel. "People should know what kind of people run this bar," he stated.
Rani Kishy, who Rosenberg claims to be personally acquainted with, said he doesn't know Rosenberg at all, but that "you can come here every night and see that plenty of people with kippahs enter freely. This may have been a misunderstanding."
Shachar Kasman, another one of the owners, said: "I remember the group, these people are my friends. There is no way I said this. The guy who wasn't allowed in was kept outside because of his age. I asked for an ID and he didn't have one. We only allow people over the age of 25."
