A jury has held that the Pakistani/Muslim owner of the Hotel Shangri-La in Santa Monica, CA discriminated against Jews holding an event at her hotel. The jury found that a group of 18 young Jewish professionals were kicked out of the pool area at the owner’s direction because of their religion–in violation of the UNRUH Civil Rights Act. Although not an employment law, the UNRUH Act outlaws discrimination by businesses on the basis of “sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, marital status, or sexual orientation.”
According to multiple news sources, witnesses stated that the owner reportedly stated:
– “Get the [expletive] Jews out of my pool!”
– “If my [family finds] out there’s a Jewish event here, they’re going to pull money from me immediately,”
Shangri-La owner, Tehmina Adaya, denied the charges. The jury awarded $1.2 million in damages to the group, plus another $440,000 in punitive damages, and awarded the Plaintiffs’ their attorney’s fees.
What do you think of this?
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