US coffee shop fires three employees after they blocked a Jewish customer from using a bathroom (Video)

Three employees at the California coffee shop that went viral after a video showed them blocking a Jewish woman from using the bathroom while making anti-Israel comments have been fired by the owners.

Amy and Chris Hillyard, the owners of Farley’s East in Oakland, California, posted on social media on Sunday, December 10 that the employees seen on the video berating the customer “was shocking and unacceptable” and are now jobless due to their actions.

“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 on the shop’s social media.

“Events like these strike fear in the Jewish community and perpetuate the rise of anti-Semitism in our community and around the world.”

“We can and must do better — and this starts with us creating a safe space for anyone who patronizes our coffeehouse.”

The video, recorded by the customer, showed three of its employees blocking the women with their bodies from using the shop’s restroom.

The customer, who claims to have gone into the bathroom beforehand and noticed antisemitic graffiti written on the mirror saying, “Zionism = fascism” and “Your neutrality/apathy is enabling genocide” scribbled on a diaper-changing station, was attempting to re-enter to document the remarks when the employees prevented her.

One of the employees started telling the customer the café was “private property” and she needed to leave.

As the customer stands her ground, insisting on using the public restroom, another employee says, “I know Israel loves taking private property and saying it’s their own, but we got to head [out],” while gesturing his hand toward the door.

Telling the out-of-touch employees she was a “patron” at the shop and had a “right” to use the bathroom, the male employee doubles down and tells her they “have a right to refuse service.”

As the customer goes back and forth with Farley’s employees, a woman who works at a neighboring business offers her to use their bathroom.

“I should not be excluded when other people are allowed,” she told the employee from the neighboring business.

One of the coffee shop employees tells her she can “use the other restroom” in the café, but the customer insists on using the one with the graffiti.

“All you’re going to get is a video of us saying that ‘Zionism is antisemitism’ because it is,” said the employee.

“If you agree with [the graffiti], why are you afraid that I take a picture of it?” the customer responded.

The staff suddenly gives in and allows the patron into the bathroom.

As she enters to film the bathroom, the male employee rudely claims that “history didn’t start in 1948, lady,” seemingly referring to the year in which Israel was established.

“Free Palestine. Now please go,” one of the staffers chimed in, as the male employee repeated the phrase, adding, “It’s always… great, we LOVE it.”

The video gained more than 2.6 million views when it was posted by StopAntisemitism.

Before the three employees were fired, Farley’s issued an apology Thursday after amassing outrage from the viral video.

“The staff handled the situation poorly and we apologize for this error and the distress caused to the customer. We’ve taken corrective measures with our staff and removed the offensive graffiti,” the coffee shop said in their initial apology.

“We’re committed to ongoing staff training for a safe and welcoming environment. Thank you for understanding that we are a small business doing our best to operate a community business in a difficult environment.”

Watch the video below 
 

American cafe staff refuse to let a Jewish woman use their restroom.

Inside, they have “decorated” it with texts saying:

“Zionism = fascism”
“Neutrality helps genocide in Gaza”

There is a mass-psychosis going on… pic.twitter.com/XUey812iqk

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 7, 2023