Sonesta International Hotels Corporation and HaYovel, one of the organizers of the 2024 Israel Summit, have reportedly reached a “resolution” following the Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel’s decision last week to breach its contract and withdraw from hosting the summit.
Sonesta and HaYovel released a joint statement on Friday announcing the update.
“Sonesta and HaYovel are pleased to have quickly and amicably reached a resolution regarding the cancellation of a recent event that was to be hosted at the Sonesta Nashville Airport,” Sonesta and HaYovel said. “The safety and wellbeing of Sonesta’s team and guests is its top priority. While Sonesta determined it was unable to host the HaYovel event due to security concerns, Sonesta sincerely apologizes for the difficulty that this decision has caused HaYovel and its Nashville event attendees. Sonesta respects all humanitarian aid and advocacy groups in their efforts on behalf of people of all faiths, beliefs and backgrounds.”
“HaYovel appreciates Sonesta’s willingness to resolve this situation swiftly and to the organization’s full satisfaction. As previously announced, the Nashville event has been rescheduled to take place at Ramsey Solutions on May 20-22, 2024. Both parties are committed to assist impacted event attendees to process refunds for relevant expenses,” the statement said.
While specifics of the resolution reached by the two parties remain unclear, First Liberty Institute, the legal counsel for HaYovel, previously said the hotel’s decision to break its contractual obligation to host the Israel Summit was “unlawful religious discrimination in a place of public accommodation.”
The Israel Summit was expected to be hosted next week at the Sonesta Hotel until hotel leadership contacted HaYovel last Friday, notifying the organization that it was dropping its contract to host the event. The hotel leadership cited “threatening” calls and messages from individuals rallied by pro-Palestine groups.
Before Friday’s resolution, First Liberty Institute has also questioned the hotel’s citing of “credible threats” regarding safety, which were allegedly “confirmed by law enforcement officials,” per conflicting information received from the Metro Nashville Police Department, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star.
The Israel Summit has since been moved to the Ramsey Event Center in Franklin at the invitation of financial advisor and radio host Dave Ramsey. The summit will take place next week on May 20-22.
Organizers of the summit are urging attendees to make new travel and hospitality arrangements for the event, as the Ramsey Event Center is approximately 27 miles from the original planned venue, the Sonesta Hotel, and the Nashville International Airport.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Sonesta Nashville Airport” by Sonesta Nashville Airport.
I am sure (wink! wink!) that Sonesta’s only concern was the safety of its staff.