Oakland coffee shop Farley’s East FIRES employees who blocked a Jewish woman from a restroom after complaining about anti-Semitic graffiti
All three California coffee shop workers caught on camera trying to kick out a Jewish woman after she complained about anti-Semitic graffiti in their restroom have been fired.
Employees at Farley’s East in Oakland blocked a woman when she tried to enter the bathroom to take a photo of a sign that read, “Zionism = Fascism” and “Your neutrality promotes genocide.”
She was berated by staff who repeatedly asked her to leave “private property”, with one of the three staff telling her: “I know Israel likes to take private property and say it belongs to them, but it’s time for us to move forward.”
The family-run cafe initially apologized for the incident and said it had taken “corrective action” against staff, but the owners have now gone further and fired staff.
“On Sunday we failed to realize that vision (where community building and placemaking will create a safe space where everyone feels welcome).
“What began as a civil dialogue between our employees and a Jewish customer escalated into a situation that was shocking and unacceptable. Events like these instill fear in the Jewish community and perpetuate the rise of anti-Semitism in our community and around the world,” Amy and Chris Hillard, owners of Farley’s, wrote online.
Staff at Farley’s East in Auckland tried to kick out a Jewish woman after she tried to photograph anti-Semitic graffiti in their toilet. All three employees were fired
One of the former employees was seen preventing the woman from opening the toilet door. She was supported by an equally determined employee, right. All three were fired
The message, scrawled in the cafe’s bathroom, read: “Zionism = Fascism” and “Your neutrality promotes genocide.”
They added that hate speech will not be tolerated in their business.
“We do not tolerate any behavior at Farley’s that makes people feel unwanted or unsafe. Because this action was inconsistent with our values, the employees involved in the incident are no longer employed by Farley’s,” Hillyard’s continued.
The video shows the woman confronting three employees who prevented her from entering the restroom.
One of the employees wearing a yellow hat told her: “This is private property, I need you to leave.”
Her colleague then intervened, saying: “I know Israel loves to take private property and say it belongs to them, but it’s time for us to act.”
The woman replies incredulously: “Won’t you let me into the toilet?”
She is then asked to leave again by the worker in the yellow hat, who accuses the woman of misgendering her co-worker.
The argument continued and the woman, referring to the graffiti inside, asks, “Why are you afraid of me taking a photo of this if you agree with it?”
The woman noticed the graffiti and complained to staff, who then tried to stop her from returning to take photos.
At one point, the woman was asked to leave private property before a staff member intervened, saying: “I know Israel likes to take private property and say it belongs to them, but it’s time for us to move forward.”
This eventually prompts the group to relent and let her into the bathroom, where the woman removes the message scrawled on the bathroom mirror and changing table.
“Your Neutrality/Apathy Enables Genocide” can be seen written on a diaper changing station, while “Zionism = Fascism” is written on the mirror above the sink.
As she zooms in, one staff member shouts, “History didn’t start in 1948, lady,” referring to the founding year of the State of Israel.
Once she has obtained the desired video footage, the woman is escorted out of the bathroom as staff shout “Free Palestine” at her.
The cafe’s owners issued a statement this weekend apologizing for their workers.
Farley’s East was forced to issue a “sincere apology” over the incident and confirmed it had taken “corrective action” against the staff involved.
Following backlash over the video, Farley’s East was forced to publicly apologize.
“We want to express our recognition and sincere apologies. For context, there was hate graffiti written in our bathroom. We do not support hate speech; this does not reflect our values,” the cafe said in a Facebook post.
“After the client used the bathroom and wanted to return to document the graffiti, he was initially denied access and then allowed to enter the bathroom to remove the graffiti.
“We apologize for this error and the distress it has caused the customer. We have taken corrective action with our staff and removed the offending graffiti.
“We are not anti-Semitic; We value diversity and inclusion. We are committed to ongoing staff training to create a safe and welcoming environment.”