(JTA) — A British Holocaust organization is moving its fundraiser from a London hotel owned by the sultan of Brunei in protest of that country’s newly implemented Sharia laws.
The Holocaust Educational Trust relocated its annual dinner from the Dorchester Hotel, and others are also considering boycotting the venue, the London Jewish Chronicle reported.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, whose family owns a group that manages several luxury hotels, is ruler of the Southeast Asian country. He introduced new Islamic punishments there in April, including the death penalty for gays and adulterers.
The Chronicle quoted Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, as saying, “Although the team at the Dorchester have always been nothing less than wonderful to work with, our position as a charity promoting tolerance and fighting prejudice in all forms is fundamentally at odds with the implementation of repressive and anti-egalitarian laws in Brunei.”
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