Israeli-Austrian musician Erwin Yabor kicked out of Vienna restaurant 'for speaking Hebrew'
Israeli-Austrian entrepreneur and cellist Erwin Yabor, who divides his time between Tel Aviv and Vienna, said on Saturday night that he was thrown out of a restaurant in Vienna together with his friends solely for speaking Hebrew.
Yabor wrote on the social network 𝕏: "Just yesterday in Vienna, Austria, violinist Hagai Shaham, pianist Julia Gurevich, and I were enjoying a quiet moment at a small and pleasant Italian restaurant – having a quick bite before our concert. Naturally, we were speaking Hebrew among ourselves."
Yabor continued: "After we received our order, the waiter came back and suddenly asked what language we were speaking. I casually replied, 'English and German.' ‘No, no,’ he insisted. ‘What were you speaking just now?’ I answered, ‘Hebrew, of course.’ He looked me straight in the eye and said, without hesitation: ‘In that case, leave. I won’t serve you food.’"
The musician described how he felt: "The initial shock and humiliation were profound. But what struck us even more was what happened afterward – or more precisely, what didn’t. The people around us were clearly stunned, some gave us sympathetic glances, and then, quietly, they went back to their dinners, their conversations, their wine – as if nothing had happened. Welcome to Europe, 2025."
Yabor concluded: "Still shaken, we went on stage that evening, heavy-hearted, seeking refuge in the music we love. Performing Dvořák’s ‘Dumky Trio’ in front of a sold-out hall offered us a rare kind of healing – a fleeting yet powerful moment of grace amidst the dissonance."
Later, the restaurant where the incident occurred was identified as Pizzeria Ramazotti in Vienna.
Dov Gil-Har is a corespondent for KAN 11.
