- Want to know more? Email tips@dailymail.com
A controversial tenants’ rights activist has thrown his support behind an Officeworks worker after she refused to serve a Jewish customer because she was pro-Palestine.
The customer, who was wearing a kippah at the time of the incident, brought an article from the Australian Jewish News newspaper into an Officeworks store in Elsternwick, in Melbourne’s east, on March 4.
The piece was titled ‘The Indomitable Spirit of Our People’ and featured a photo of a group holding Australian and Israeli flags.
After seeing the paper, the Officeworks manager refused to serve the Jewish man, stating: “I am pro-Palestine.”
The confrontation ended with the employee threatening to call the police if the Jewish man did not leave the store.
Jordan van den Berg, best known for advertising abandoned houses for Australians to occupy under the social media handle Purplepingers, issued a message of support for the worker.
“I’m really proud of this manager. I’ve told this story before, but when I worked at Officeworks Hornsby, we all refused to print any anti-same-sex marriage material during the referendum,” he said.
“Clients cannot force workers to print whatever they want.”
An Officeworks manager who refused to laminate a newspaper article by a Jewish man because it mentioned Israel and she is “pro-Palestine” has begun receiving support online.
Controversial left-wing influencer Jordan van den Berg (pictured) said he was “proud” of the Officeworks manager because “customers can’t force workers to print whatever they want”.
Mr van den Berg’s comments came just hours after Officeworks apologised for the incident but did not fire the worker, sparking outrage from the Jewish man who was refused service.
Instead, he received “education and training,” including a visit to the Melbourne Holocaust Museum.
“The anti-Semitic employee is still employed, which would make it appear that Officeworks condones her behaviour,” he told Sky News on Thursday.
‘It seems as if one can be openly anti-Semitic and still keep one’s job.
“I cannot understand how that would not meet the criteria for immediate dismissal from office.”
Officeworks managing director Sarah Hunter justified the company’s decision not to fire the worker.
“At the time, we concluded that the incident was related to ignorance and not malice,” he said in a statement.
The Jewish man who received the worker’s services is suing under the Equal Employment Opportunity Act for racial and religious discrimination.
‘Disciplinary measures were implemented with the team member, including a final warning, additional training and relocation to a different store.
Ms Hunter said the worker had learned from her mistake and described the effect of the incident as “profound” and “her remorse was profound and genuine”.
“Once again, I express my disappointment and deep regret for the incident that occurred, as it does not reflect our way of working or our values,” he said.
‘We apologized to the customer at the time and I take this opportunity to reiterate our apologies and extend them to the wider community for the harm and inconvenience we have caused.
“We will continue to work closely with our team to promote awareness, tolerance and compassion, while reiterating our expectation that the highest standards of conduct be maintained.”
(tags to translate)dailymail
