After issuing an apology on Friday after video surfaced showing employees at an Oakland coffee shop blocking a Jewish woman from a bathroom while making anti-Israel comments, the owners have now fired the employees allegedly involved in the altercation.
“On Sunday, we fell short of this vision. 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 anti-Semitism in our community and around the world,” Amy and Chris Hillyard, the owners of Farley’s 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,” the Hillyard’s posted.
Farley’s East location in Oakland, California. (Google Maps)
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.
The employees allegedly wanted to prevent the woman from recording graffiti in the bathroom, which showed “Zionism = fascism” written on the mirror above the sink and “Your neutrality/apathy is enabling genocide” written on a diaper-changing station.
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At York University in Canada, antisemitic graffiti was scrawled in a classroom on Oct. 26, 2023. (Courtesy of Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus)
The employees also accused the woman of “misgendering” an employee.
After allowing the woman in the bathroom, the employees are heard shouting, “History didn’t start in 1948, lady,” and “Free Palestine.”
In their initial apology statement, Farley’s Coffee’s posted on their Instagram page Wednesday, insisting that they were not antisemitic and promised “ongoing staff training” after the incident.
Other messages read, “F**k Israel.” The Israeli embassy to the United States said that the graffiti messages were found in their “backyard.” (Embassy of Israel to the USA via X)
“We are committed to working with community leaders and organizations across the Bay Area to make sure we as owners, and our employees, have the resources, education and skills necessary to peacefully exist in this community. We hope to continue to have the privilege of serving our community and to once again being a coffeehouse where everyone feels welcome,” the company posted.
Farley’s Coffee did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital for a request for comment on Sunday.
