‘I’m pro-Palestine’: Jewish customer denied service by Officeworks manager

A Jewish customer has been refused service by an Officeworks employee declaring “I’m pro-Palestine”, video shows.

A Jewish customer has been rejected service by an Officeworks employee declaring “I’m pro-Palestine”, video shows.

The clip, shared by the Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) on Thursday, was recorded earlier this year in Melbourne at the Elsternwick branch of the Wesfarmers-owned office supply chain.

Officeworks has since apologised to the customer but has not fired the staff member, instead sending her for “education and training” including a visit to the Melbourne Holocaust Museum.

An Officeworks spokeswoman told news.com.au the company was “disappointed” the incident occurred and action had been taken to assure it was not repeated. She said company policies had been “incorrectly applied and in accordance with our Officeworks’ policies, the laminating should have taken place”.

The video begins mid-conversation, with the customer — who was wearing a yarmulke — attempting to have an article laminated. A copy of the Australian Jewish News seen on the counter.

According to the ADC, the page featured an article with a photograph of an Israeli flag and noted one of the authors was a rabbi.

The staff member said she was ‘pro-Palestine’. Picture: ADC

“(What’s) political about that?” he asks the woman.

“I’m pro-Palestine,” she says.

“That’s OK, you’re here to do a job of laminating, not take a political (position),” he says.

“Yeah, we have the right to deny jobs,” she says.

“Is that an Officeworks position or your personal position?” he says.

“It is an Officeworks … we have the right to deny jobs,” she says.

“So Officeworks’ position is that you’re pro-Palestine and you won’t take a laminating job?” he asks.

“No, that is my position but we have the right to deny jobs,” she says.

“What’s the reason you’re denying the job?” he says.

“Because I’m not comfortable proceeding with it,” she says.

She refused to laminate a newspaper article. Picture: ADC

“Which part?” he asks.

“The entire thing, the article,” she says. “I’m not comfortable with it. I’ve looked at the photo, I’ve looked at the headline.”

The man informs her “you’re in a Jewish community”, to which she responds that “Israel and Judaism can be completely separate”.

“From what?” he asks.

“From religion and … you can separate the two,” she says.

“What are you separating?” he says.

“The culture and the religion,” she says, adding, “I’m just not comfortable with doing that.”

The man asks to speak to her manager, but she informs him “I’m the manager of the department”.

“I’m just not comfortable doing it,” she says. “I’m pro-Palestine. And for political reasons I’m not comfortable.”

“Is that a personal staff member’s discretion to make decisions?” he asks. “What policy am I breaching?”

The woman tells him he can check on the website. She then realises he is recording the interaction.

“Are you recording me?” she says. “Can you not record me? I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“No, that’s OK,” he says. “You can call the police.”

“Yeah, I can call the police,” she says, as the video ends.

The man left the store and later engaged a lawyer to write to Officeworks alleging contraventions of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010, according to the ADC.

In his letter he demanded Officeworks stop discriminating against him and provide him with the service, as well as obtain an apology from the manger, reprimand and terminate her employment.

Officeworks’ response was to offer the man a $100 voucher and to indicate that they are investigating the matter, the ADC said.

‘I’m not comfortable with it.’ Picture: ADC

An Officeworks spokeswoman confirmed the staff member was “still employed and has undergone education and training in respect to discrimination and of Officeworks’ policies and procedures”.

“This includes education through the Melbourne Holocaust Museum,” she said.

“At Officeworks, we want everyone to have an enjoyable shopping experience with us — whether it be shopping in store or online. We are disappointed that this did not occur with one of our customers at our Elsternwick store in March 2024.”

She said Officeworks had “taken this matter extremely seriously, and since the matter occurred, have investigated internally and taken the appropriate action to ensure this doesn’t take place again”.

“In this particular incident, our policies were incorrectly applied and in accordance with our Officeworks’ policies, the laminating should have taken place,” she said.

“Additionally, we have provided ongoing training and education to our team members so that they are aware of the legal requirements in respect of discrimination and of Officeworks’ policies and procedures. At Officeworks, our policies do not discriminate customers on the basis of political views, religious beliefs or race.”

She added, “These policies are instead there to respect these attributes and any views expressed in this situation are not Officeworks’ views. Officeworks takes its legal obligations very seriously, including treating team members and customers with respect and ensuring our store environment is free from discrimination of any kind.”

Dr Dvir Abramovich. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui/NCA NewsWire

The man has now applied to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) for an order under the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 claiming racial and religious vilification.

“This incident has caused my family and me significant distress and has raised concerns about whether it is safe to visit our local stores and conduct our usual activities,” he said in a statement shared with the ADC.

“None of the staff intervened during the situation with the manager, and the embarrassment and harassment we experienced have left a lasting impact.”

ADC chairman Dr Dvir Abramovich said the incident was “not normal and should be condemned by our elected leaders in the strongest possible terms”.

“Treating Jewish people differently because of who they are is discrimination plain and simple and Officeworks Elsternwick might as well have posted a sign in the store saying, ‘No service for Jews, Zionists or supporters of Israel,’” he said in a statement.

“Imagine the public outrage if a member of the LGBTQI community, or an Indigenous Australian or a disabled person were turned away? It may begin with the Jews being turned away from a public business, but it will not end with the Jews, and red lines are now being crossed that I never thought I’d see in my lifetime.”

Dr Abramovich said he was “shocked by this ugly and dehumanising outburst of exclusion which is un-Australian and tears to shreds our shared values”.

“What’s next? Being refused entry into a restaurant, a club or a medical clinic because you wear a Star of David, or you have a Jewish-sounding name?” he said.

“Who would have thought that in Melbourne 2024, people would be denied a service because of their faith and for Israel? We should have zero tolerance for this kind of profiling and indefensible prejudice. No one should be singled out or denied service because of their ethnic origin, the country they support, gender, creed, faith, or sexual orientation.”

He called on Officeworks to issue a public apology “and consider the position of this particular employee”.

“I urge the Human Rights Commission and the government to condemn this unacceptable conduct,” he added.

A protest march in Melbourne. Picture: Andrew Henshaw/NCA NewsWire

Caulfield MP David Southwick, deputy leader of the Victorian Liberal Party, on Thursday wrote to Officeworks managing director Sarah Hunter to “express my hurt and disappointment” over the incident.

“Frankly, this behaviour is simply appalling,” the letter said.

“The fact that this happened on Glen Huntly Road, Elsternwick — which sits in the heart of Melbourne’s Jewish community — has only added insult to injury.”

Mr Southwick said Officeworks “must now publicly apologise to the individual involved, publicly apologise to the Jewish community, provide staff at the store with proper anti-Semitism education programs, and guarantee that this behaviour will never happen again”.

Gareth Narunsky, editor-in-chief of the Australian Jewish News, said the newspaper was “shocked” at the employee’s behaviour.

“The AJN represents a broad range of Australian Jews with diverse opinions,” he said.

“We run plenty of content critical of Israeli policies or actions when appropriate. We also staunchly uphold Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself. To deny a customer who simply wants to laminate an article from our publication reeks of ignorance and anti-Semitism.”

Melbourne has seen regular pro-Palestine protests attracting thousands of people to the CBD since the start of the Israel-Gaza war following the October 7 attacks by Hamas.

The protests have occasionally turned violent, with Victoria Police in June slamming “hostile and disgusting” behaviour after objects were allegedly thrown at officers and one spat on.

In November there were angry clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters in a park next to a synagogue in Caulfield, which has a large Jewish community.

The October 7 attack on southern Israel by Palestinian terror group Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1197 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally by news agency AFP based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed at least 39,445 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Originally published as ‘I’m pro-Palestine’: Jewish customer denied service by Officeworks manager