The Marriott Hotel Chain is Classifying Portions of Jerusalem as “Occupied Palestinian Area”–Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
The chairman of Erez Travel and Tourism in Israel is said to have received a letter from the Marriott hotel chain in which his address was listed as “Jerusalem, Occupied Palestinian Area,” indicating that the hotel chain was taking a pro-Palestinian stance in the land dispute between Jews and Palestinians..
The Truth:
The letter in question is real and was received by the chairman of Erez Travel, but Marriott says it was a mistake, not a reflection of company policy. In a statement, Marriott says that the offensive address came from a list put together by the international organization that registers travel agencies. It was not noticed until letters were sent out using that mailing list and was corrected as soon as the mistake was discovered.
The Marriott Hotel chain is based in Washington, and its hotels have
served as popular convention sites for many Jewish organizations,
including the Conference of Jewish Presidents, and many Israeli
delegations to Washington have stayed at the hotel. Mr. Yalon was
outraged. He wrote back a letter to the hotel chain’s board,
“I was born in Jerusalem which has always been a part of the State of Israel.