A Boston hotel owned by an infamous slumlord cancelled two Passover meals at the last minute. It hosted anti-Israel Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib instead.
The Iris Hotel Boston in Brookline — a Boston suburb with a large Jewish population — was supposed to host two Passover Seder meals on Saturday evening. But just two days before the dinners were set to take place, the hotel canceled, a source involved with coordinating the events told The Daily Wire.
The Seders had been referenced on a schedule for staff posted in the hotel, which was reviewed by The Daily Wire.
After canceling the events, the hotel hosted a private screening of a film about Palestinians with Tlaib, a member of the far-left “Squad.” A staff member at the hotel confirmed to The Daily Wire that Tlaib was at the hotel on Saturday night.
One of the hotel’s owners, Anwar Faisal, is a major Tlaib donor who has been criticized for renting “slums” to college students. Boston Magazine once claimed Faisal’s buildings had “as many rats under his roofs as undergraduates.”
Upon welcoming Tlaib, the Iris Hotel flew a Palestinian flag under an American flag on its flagpole, though the flag appears to have been mistakenly hung upside down.
Sosi Rochel, who was invited to the Passover meal, told The Daily Wire she was disappointed it was cancelled.
“My family and I were excited to be invited to a Passover meal at a non-Jewish establishment located in the heart of Brookline’s Jewish community,” Sosi Rochel said.
“Once we heard what happened and saw the Palestinian flag flying outside at the same time, we were disappointed and asked the hotel what happened. They gave a very canned statement and did not take our concerns seriously.”
Sosi Rochel, who asked to withhold her last name for fears of retribution, said she feels like it is a “jab for the hotel to choose to support a congresswoman with a history of antisemitism over its own local community.”
A spokesperson for the Iris Hotel’s management company, Wagner Hospitality Management, declined to give The Daily Wire a statement more than “your tip is incorrect” and that “the Iris Hotel has no further comment on past events that took place at the hotel.”
In a post on its public Facebook page, Wagner Hospitality Management wrote that the flag was flown as a “sign of respect” during Tlaib’s “brief stay to honor her heritage.”
“This flag should not be a contentious symbol and we would show the same respect for any dignitary choosing to stay with us regardless of their heritage or ethnicity,” the management company posted.
The post added that the flag was “only there for that day” and “has nothing to do with politics.”
“We have many Jewish guests staying at our hotel and we respect everyone,” Wagner Hospitality Management wrote.
According to public records, the Iris Hotel is owned by Adil Lamtioui and Anwar Faisal. Faisal, a well-known Palestinian figure in Boston, has been dubbed a notorious slumlord for his mismanagement of rental properties, many of which are leased to college students. Faisal has also used his status as a wealthy immigrant as a defense in housing court, Boston Magazine reported.
According to FEC records, Faisal donated the maximum campaign contribution of $3,300 to Tlaib in her primary and general election in 2023. Also in 2023, he gave an additional $5,000 to the Rooted in Community Leadership PAC, which is affiliated with Tlaib.
Tlaib was censured by the House of Representatives shortly after Hamas’s October 7 massacre of Israeli civilians for “promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.” Tlaib, a Palestinian-American has used her platform to routinely espouse antisemitic and anti-Israel viewpoints.
“It is abhorrent that in 2025, Jewish Americans continue to be the targets of vicious antisemitism,” Sam Markstein, the spokesperson of the Republican Jewish Coalition, told The Daily Wire.
“The hotel in question should be ashamed, and its owners owe the Jewish community of Massachusetts an apology and answers as to why they abruptly canceled Passover celebrations with virtually no notice and welcomed deranged antisemite Rashida Tlaib to their property with open arms,” Markstein added.
Liora Rez, the executive director of StopAntisemitism, told The Daily Wire that the hotel’s cancellation is a new low.
“For a hotel to cancel a Jewish religious event in order to host one of America’s most notorious antisemites isn’t just offensive — it’s a staggering new low, and a blatant act of complicity in hate,” Rez said.
