Employees at Farley's East FIRES coffee shop in Oakland blocked a Jewish woman from a restroom after complaining about anti-Semitic graffiti
All three California coffee shop workers who were caught on camera trying to kick out a Jewish woman after she complained about anti-Semitic graffiti in their restroom have been fired.
Staff at Farley's East in Oakland blocked the woman when she tried to enter the bathroom to take a photo of the writing, which read “Zionism = Fascism” and “your neutrality enables genocide.”
She was verbally abused by staff who repeatedly told her to leave the 'private property' – with one of the three staff telling her: 'I know Israel likes to confiscate private property and say it's their property , but we have to get on with it.'
Initially the family-owned pub apologized for the incident and said it had taken 'corrective action' against staff, but now the owners have gone further and fired those involved.
“On Sunday we fell short of this vision (where community building and placemaking would create a safe space where everyone feels welcome).
“What started as a civil dialogue between our staff and a Jewish customer escalated into a situation that was shocking and unacceptable. Events like these “sow fear in the Jewish community and perpetuate the rise of anti-Semitism in our community and around the world,” Amy and Chris Hillyard, the owners of Farley's, posted online.
Staff at Farley's East in Oakland tried to kick out a Jewish woman after she tried to take a photo of anti-Semitic graffiti in their restroom. All three employees have been fired
A former staff member could be seen blocking the woman from opening the toilet door. She was assisted by an equally determined staff member, right? All three have been fired
On the bathroom of the cafe was written: 'Zionism = Fascism' and 'Your neutrality makes genocide possible'
They added that hateful acts would not be allowed within their company.
'At Farley's we do not tolerate any behavior that makes people feel unwelcome or unsafe. Because this act was inconsistent with our values, the employees involved in the incident are no longer employed by Farley's,” the Hillyard's continued.
The video showed the woman standing in front of three employees who denied her access to the toilet.
An employee in a yellow hat told her, “It's private property, I want you to leave.”
Her colleague then intervened and said, “I know Israel loves to take private property and say it's theirs, but we have to face it.”
The woman reacts in disbelief: 'You won't let me into the toilet, will you?'
She is then asked to leave again by the worker in the yellow hat, who accuses the woman of misgendering a colleague.
The altercation continued and the woman – referring to the graffiti inside – asks, “Why are you afraid I'll take a picture of it if you agree?”
The woman had noticed the graffiti and complained to the staff, who then tried to prevent her from returning to take a photo
At one point the woman was asked to leave the private property, before an employee intervened with: “I know Israel likes to confiscate private property and say it's their property, but we have to move on.”
It eventually leads the group to relent and let her into the bathroom, where the woman films the writing scrawled on a bathroom mirror and a baby changing table.
A diaper changing station reads “Your neutrality/apathy makes genocide possible,” while the mirror above the sink reads “Zionism = fascism.”
As she zooms in, one of the employees shouts: “History did not begin in 1948, lady,” referring to the year the state of Israel was founded.
Once she has obtained the video footage she wants, the woman is led out of the bathroom as staff shout “Free Palestine” at her.
Farley's East was forced to issue a 'sincere apology' for the incident and confirmed it has taken 'corrective action' against the staff involved
Following the backlash over the video, Farley's East was forced to publicly apologize.
'We would like to offer an acknowledgment and a sincere apology. For context, hateful graffiti was written in our bathroom. We do not support hate speech; this does not reflect our values,” the cafe said in a statement on Facebook.
'After a customer used the bathroom and wanted to return to document the graffiti, he was initially denied entry and then allowed to enter the bathroom to film the graffiti.
'We apologize for this error and the inconvenience caused to the customer. Together with our staff, we took corrective action and removed the offending graffiti.
'We are not anti-Semitic; we value diversity and inclusion. We are committed to ongoing staff training to provide a safe and welcoming environment.”