Alps ‘N’ Jews – Kosher vacations – The French are fed up (and the Swiss too)

In mid-August, a video filmed at the Les Deux Alpes resort in Isère—located at the gateway to the Écrins massif—went viral on X. It shows a shopkeeper leaning against the counter of her refreshment stand, telling an Orthodox Jewish man: “The Jewish community—there are too many of you. At a certain point, it becomes too much for people.”

Readers interested in the event can refer to an AFP article with an evocative title:

“They bother us—we’ve had enough.”

In the Alps, kosher summer tourism has been a draw for decades, yet this coexistence also gives rise to tensions and friction.

What is interesting is that this AFP article was picked up by the Swiss daily *Le Temps* (the Swiss version of the French newspaper *Le Monde*): because the Swiss are fed up too.

And here is a firsthand account from a French-speaking Swiss person—the kind of testimony *Le Temps* dares not quote.

Alas, fresh air cannot purify anything on its own.

This phenomenon is also very prevalent in Switzerland. These “aliens” settle at the outdoor tables of resort restaurants without ordering anything—much to the dismay of the restaurateurs, who lose money because of them. However, they generously leave their trash scattered on the tables, since they consume only their own kosher food and drink.

But as soon as you move away from the center, the flat-footed ones miraculously disappear… They have balance issues from top to bottom…

But hoteliers have found a clever trick! As soon as they spot the minibus pulling into the hotel parking lot, the receptionist places a “Fully Booked for the Season” sign on the front desk—before the “Black-and-Whites” (black trousers, loose white shirts, black hats, screaming kids, etc.) come waddling over. The receptionist then puts on a look of dismay, insisting that there isn’t a single room left. … But he offers to make a call to see if there are vacancies elsewhere. In reality, he dials an internal line where an accomplice—posing as the manager of a nearby hotel, surrounded by staff who are lapping up every moment—confirms off-air that kosher tourists are welcome, that he has room, and so on. He then gives directions, but in such a confused and muddled way that the eagerly awaited guests are bound to get lost in the thick fog of a remote mountain pasture. The Jewish man claims he has understood perfectly… while the staff in the back room roar with laughter as they watch the couple turn on their heels and leave!

References

Les 2 Alpes : les trois photos de groupe qui immortalisent le séminaire européen 5786 du Beth Loubavitch – hassidout.org

France: «Nous, ils nous dérangent, on en a marre» – lematin.ch