A shocking video has revealed the moment an Officeworks manager declined to laminate a Jewish man’s newspaper because she is ‘pro-Palestine’.
The customer, who was sporting a yarmulke at the time of the happening, took an article from the Australian Jewish News newspaper to an Officeworks store at Elsternwick, in Melbourne’s east, on March 4.
The article was titled ‘The indomitable spirit of our people’, and featured a picture of a group holding Australian and Israeli flags.
After seeing the newspaper, the Officeworks manager declined to serve the Jewish man, stating: ‘I’m pro-Palestine.’
She argued Officeworks’ policies gave her the right to refuse the man service based on her political views. Officeworks has since clarified that this is inaccurate.
‘I’m not comfortable proceeding with it (the job),’ the manager told the man.
The customer asked: ‘Maybe there’s another staff member that’s comfortable doing it.’
The employee replied: ‘You can wait for another staff member and see if she’s comfortable doing it, but I know I’m not.
‘I’m pro-Palestine and, for political reasons, I’m not comfortable.’
The customer asked whether Officeworks’ policies gave employees the discretion to decline service based on their personal views.
Embarrassingly, the staff member failed to find the words to explain her position when asked to clarify her actions.
‘We have the right to deny jobs because I’m not comfortable proceeding with it,’ she said.
‘Israel and Judaism can be completely separate.
The customer asked: ‘From what?’
The employee answered: ‘From religion and … um, I can’t find the word right now but you can separate the two.’
The employee then asked if she was being recorded by the man and threatened to call the police if he did not leave the store.
The customer has since lodged a complaint with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, claiming Officeworks discriminated against his ethnicity and faith by denying him service.
‘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 stated.
‘None of the staff intervened during the situation with the manager, and the embarrassment and harassment we experienced have left a lasting impact.’
Officeworks has since apologised but will not sack the manager, instead sending her for ‘education and training’, including a stop at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum.
‘We can confirm that we have 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,’ they said.
‘In this particular incident, our policies were incorrectly applied and in accordance with our Officeworks’ policies, the laminating should have taken place.
‘Additionally, we have provided ongoing training and education to our team members so they are aware of the legal requirements in respect of discrimination and of Officeworks’ policies and procedures.’
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, slammed the worker.
‘Who would have thought that in Melbourne 2024, people would be denied a service because of their faith and for Israel?’ he stated.
‘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.
‘Being different should be a cause for celebration, not a liability that makes one subject to bias.’
Under the circumstances, the company should feel ashamed paying the workers wages, and I do not doubt that there will be an abundance of people who will not shop at Officeworks ever again, as there are plenty of other options.
Her racist disgust for the man was fairly evident. For Officeworks to favour this conduct by continuing to employ her is appalling.
If this is their mindset, then I too wouldn’t feel very uncomfortable shopping at one of their stores.
Both Officeworks and this employee need to be sued for discrimination since this employee has not lost their job. This is racist and religious bigotry. She stated in the video she doesn’t like Jewish culture. How is this acceptable?
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 