The owners of a coffee shop in Oakland, California, have fired employees who were filmed blocking a Jewish woman from a bathroom while making anti-Israel comments, Fox News reported on Sunday.
“What began as a civil dialogue between our staff and a Jewish customer escalated into a situation that was shocking and unacceptable. Events like these strike fear in the Jewish community and perpetuate the rise of antisemitism in our community and around the world," Amy and Chris Hillyard, the owners of the coffee shop, Farley's East, posted on social media.
The owners continued by saying that acts of hate would not be tolerated in their business.
"We do not tolerate any behavior at Farley's that makes people feel unwelcome or unsafe. Because this act was not aligned with our values, the employees involved in the incident are no longer employed by Farley's," they added.
The video, which was recorded by the customer, showed three employees standing between the customer and the door of the bathroom. According to the video, the customer had previously gone into the bathroom and wanted to re-enter to document the antisemitic graffiti.
After eventually allowing the woman in the bathroom, the employees are heard shouting, "History didn’t start in 1948, lady," and "Free Palestine."
The owners of Farley’s East had previously issued an apology for the incident but did not fire the employees right away, insisting that they were not antisemitic and promised "ongoing staff training" after the incident.