What do you think about the hotel in Switzerland posting a sign for Jews to shower before entering the pool?

It’s standard practise here for swimmers to shower before bathing and the rule applies to everyone. To say only Jews should shower makes no sense and is offensive but it is hardly ““an anti-Semitic act of the worst and ugliest kind” as Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister has allegedly called it.

My reading of the situation is that it is part of a petty squabble between the hotel owner and some Jewish guests.

Must be some kind of sick joke, right?

@ZEPHYRA No, not according to snopes. The hotel goes out of their way to accommodate observant Jews according to the explanation. Not that I think the sign is ok, I think it’s awful, but it’s not as simple as calling them antisemitic.

I am curious if Hasidics have rules that govern bathing, and perhaps that’s why the sign was posted? I just tried to google it and I got “ritual bathing” practices but there may be more. We used to swim at the JCC and they had a sign that all swimmers were supposed to shower before entering the pool.

@jca Almost every public pool I’ve ever been to has a sign to shower before going in the pool.

@JLeslie: Do you know if there are rules about Hasidics bathing/not bathing (at any time, not just in ref to swimming).

@jca The Jews have all sorts of rules about bathing, but usually it’s bathing more not less. I don’t know any specifics except for things like women going to the mikvah (bath) after they finish their period.

It’s upsetting for many reasons, not to mention because there were stereotypes of dirty Jews, or that Jews didn’t want to bathe in history, when the truth was Jews were being enslaved or kept in camps and not allowed to bathe. It’s like telling someone they stink from body odor after making them build the pyramids in the hot sun all day.

The hoteliers claimed other guests complained the Jewish customers weren’t bathing before entering the pool. That they also wore shirts into the pool. It doesn’t surprise me they wore shirts, because probably they were concerned about modesty. I can’t inagine the Jewish customers were less clean though. That sounds ridiculous and offensive.

@JLeslie: I wasn’t trying to offend anyone with my question. I was just trying to figure out what could possibly be the motivation for the hotel owner to post that sign, other than bigotry and anti-Semitism.

@jca Oh, you weren’t offensive, I mean the sign was offensive. Perfectly fine to ask the question.

@JLeslie It is a smart idea for everyone to quickly shower before swimming. The huge affront, IMHO is to not make it inclusive for all. Some people go out of their way to cause harm/hurt.

@si3tech I doubt they went out of their way to cause hurt. I think they didn’t think through how it would be hurtful. I’ll add, for minorities it’s not just hurtful, it’s scary.

@JLeslie I agree.

It’s real

Disgusting.

It’s upsetting for many reasons, not to mention because there were stereotypes of dirty Jews, or that Jews didn’t want to bathe in history, when the truth was Jews were being enslaved or kept in camps and not allowed to bathe. It’s like telling someone they stink from body odor after making them build the pyramids in the hot sun all day.
Sure, just like some people lump all Christians in one bunch and stereotyping them all or most as crazy, evangelical homophobes.

@chyna Right, when people do that to Christians it’s wrong. Are you saying I do that? Should I pull out all my answers where I defend Christians as not racist, when so many are doing that during this last presidential campaign. How disgusted I was that Hillary used the word deplirables. Where I state that it’s my most religious evangelical friend who made a long post on Facebook stating my exact sentiments about how awful people have been to each other, because of politics, and what happened to disagreeing with friends, neighbors, and family, but still respecting them, listening to them, and living them?

I am the liberal on this site that has stood up for Christian Republicans over and over again, defending them and stating they are not all hateful, they are not homophobic…oh yeah, how many times have I said that just because someone is against gay marriage does not make them homophobic? I could go on and on and on, and show you link after link, so I’m pretty sure you aren’t talking about me.

Do I sometimes make generalizations about Chistians in the Bible Belt? Yup. I do it about every group even my own groups, but if you listen enough to what I say you see that I never mean everyone in a group, and I speak from my experience.

Most of my best friends are Christian. It’s hard for that not to be the case in America. Some of them evangelical. They have never once made me feel unwelcome because I am not Christian, I’m the first to say it. My friends are good, loving, people.

If Christians vote down gay marriage, then they did it. I can’t help they did it. If they vote in Trump. No one is holding a gun to their head. The slaves who couldn’t bathe basically do have a gun to their head. I know plenty of Christians who are pro-choice, pro gay marriage and who didn’t vote for Trump (well not many evangelicals, but definitely plenty of Catholics) and so that’s just how it is on those things. It’s not my fault.

Do I assume anything about a Christian when I meet them? Nope.