Woman called “f***ing Jew” after asking a fellow Waitrose shopper to wear facemask
A customer at the Mill Hill East Waitrose was called a “f”””ing Jew” by a fellow customer who had allegedly jumped the queue and whom she had confronted for not wearing a facemask, according to the JC.
The victim, from Hendon in North London, reported that the other customer turned to her and said: “f*** off, you f***ing Jew. Go back to where you came from, you c***.”
The victim said that she reported the customer to the Waitrose staff but was shocked at being told to “walk away”, with the staff allegedly ignoring the matter.
She then tried calling 999 but was informed by the operator that this was not a police matter.
The victim said that she felt “very vulnerable walking around the aisles”, particularly as she continued to see the other customer, whom she eventually encountered again at the checkout line. “She started calling me a c*** again and said ‘keep the mask on, I bet you’re so ugly behind that mask’.”
She claims that a manager then ordered both of them to be quiet.
The victim has apparently not returned to the branch, and says that she has contacted the chain twice to demand an apology. “I do feel absolutely victimised. I’ve never felt like this before. I felt horribly alone, and that’s why I can’t let it go. It’s keeping me awake,” she reportedly said.
When approached by the JC, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police reportedly urged the victim to report the incident online, saying: “That would be unlikely to amount to an investigation in respect of close contact/unmasked etc, but an allegation of racial abuse ought to be recorded.”
A Waitrose spokesperson reportedly said: “We are very sorry to hear about this. We do not tolerate any sort of discrimination. Any customer who is found to discriminate against a member of staff or another customer will be banned. We are also now taking a more robust approach to mask wearing and customers must wear a mask when they are in our shops unless they are exempt. We will refuse entry to those who do not comply. Once again, we are very sorry to learn about the customer’s experience.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews almost four times more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
