Overview
- The confrontation occurred Thursday at Oceanpoint/Oceanside Ranch in Cambria, California, and a roughly one-minute video of the exchange was posted by the employee and quickly spread across social platforms.
- In the clip the worker shouts “Free Palestine,” repeatedly asks the guests if they are Zionists or served in the IDF, and calls them “baby killers,” while the recorded footage begins after an earlier exchange that is not shown on camera.
- Hotel general manager Angel Gonzalez said the property apologized to the couple, has been in direct contact with them, initiated an internal review, and reports the employee is no longer working at the hotel.
- The worker has been identified online as 24-year-old Ryan Smith, who posted that he was dismissed for speaking out on the Middle East and launched a GoFundMe that raised several thousand dollars and later reports said more than $13,000.
- Public figures and antisemitism watchdogs condemned the incident and urged further investigation, a reaction that highlights tensions over political expression by service workers and the role of viral videos in prompting employer and public scrutiny.