To: Kyoto City Court
Subject: Addressing the Injustice Against Mr. Geronimo Gehres
Honorable President of the Court,
Greetings,
On behalf of 28 Trade unions, organizations, and parties from 12 countries in the Middle East, we express our strong condemnation and deep concern over the injustice and unfair treatment that Mr. Geronimo Gehres has endured.
According to a report received from the ZANKO organization in Kyoto, Mr. Gehres was unfairly dismissed from his job by the hotel management due to pressure from the Israeli ambassador in Japan and the Kyoto city authorities. This came after a biased media campaign in Japan, under the pretext that he refused to accommodate an Israeli soldier, which was falsely labeled as “racial discrimination” against the soldier in question.
However, Mr. Gehres’ actions were entirely appropriate and legal under international law. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on November 21, 2024, for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during military operations in Gaza. Therefore, Mr. Gehres’ refusal to accommodate a soldier from the Israeli army does not violate international law nor constitute discrimination. Instead, it represents a principled stance by an individual refusing to be complicit with a military force responsible for massacres against civilians.
Moreover, international organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations Human Rights Mission have documented that the Israeli military’s actions in Gaza amount to war crimes and genocide. In this context, Mr. Gehres’ actions were in the best interest of the hotel itself, as he sought to ensure that it did not become complicit in crimes against humanity committed by an army that has killed over 50,000 people, a quarter of whom were children.
Based on the above, we demand that the Kyoto City Court:
• Restore Geronimo Gehres’ legal rights, reinstate his dignity, and order the hotel to compensate him financially and morally for his unfair dismissal.
• Issue a ruling that sets a clear precedent affirming that war criminals and those complicit in genocide and crimes against humanity have no place in a world where human dignity and justice prevail. Such a ruling would be a significant step toward strengthening humanitarian efforts for a world free of oppression and injustice.
Samir Adil
General Secretary of the Unified Workers’ Front for the Defense of the Palestinian People ( UWFPP)
March 12, 2025
1) General Union of Workers' Unions in Iraq – Iraq
2) Union of Palestinian Workers’ Struggle – Palestine
3) Jordanian Independent Trade Union Confederation – Jordan
4) Sudanese Independent Labour Unions Federation – Sudan
5) "Workers' New Echo" Newspaper – Iraq
6) "Workers' Voice" Newspaper (Kurdish) – Iraqi Kurdistan
7) "Workers' Struggle" Magazine – Palestine
8) National General Union of Workers in Libya – Libya
9) Oil, Gas, and Petrochemicals Unions Federation – Iraq
10) General Union of Workers in Petrochemicals – Palestine
11) Union of the New Generation of Workers in Mauritania – Mauritania
12) Mauritanian Labor Union UMT
13) National Democratic Union of Mauritanian Workers UDNTM
14) Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Union
15) In Solidarity Organisation – Morocco
16) Democratic Confederation of Labour – Morocco
17) Democratic Federation of Labour – Morocco
18) The National Authority for the Protection of Public Funds and the Environment
19) National Union for Education / Democratic Orientation – Tunisia
20) ATTAC Morocco Association / Member of the International Network for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debts – Moroco
21) Global Network for the Palestinian Cause / Coalition of Organizations from Different Countries
22) Unified Socialist Party – Morocco
23) Palestinian Popular Struggle Front – Pal
24) Worker-communist Party of Iraq – Iraq
25) Hekmatist Worker-communist Party (Official Line) – Iran
26) Kurdistan Worker-communist Party – Iraqi Kurdistan
27) Egyptian Socialist Party – Egypt
28) The National Progressive Unitary Rally Party