Burger King fires employee who told ‘Israeli’ customer “free Palestine”
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
A Burger King employee in Pennsylvania was fired after telling a customer who identified himself as ‘Israeli’ “Free Palestine” during a food order, according to video footage, company statements, and the former employee’s own account.
The incident occurred at a Burger King location in Breinigsville.
Rami Feinstein, an ‘Israeli’-American musician wearing a Star of David necklace, was ordering food for his family when an employee named Arianna Hamilton asked where he was from. After Feinstein replied that he was from ‘Israel’, the employee said “Free Palestine.”
Feinstein recorded the exchange.
In the video, he asks the employee to repeat the phrase. She does so. He then claims he was simply ordering food and questions what the slogan had to do with the transaction.
Feinstein later said he felt threatened, requested a refund, and left the restaurant. He posted the footage online, asking whether Burger King was a safe place for Jewish customers.
Burger King corporate responded publicly, stating: “We are very sorry to hear about your experience. Burger King is a place where everyone should feel welcome, respected and free from discrimination. We have no tolerance for antisemitism, hate, or discrimination of any kind. We are working with the franchisee that owns and operates this restaurant to address this situation.”
In a subsequent Instagram video and related posts, Hamilton described the episode as an exercise of free speech rather than antagonism.
She revealed she was let go of her job.
“That man did come in very aggressively. I did not ask him where he was from... like, originated from. I asked him where is he from, from the Lehigh Valley. We get a lot of people from a lot of different places: New York, New Jersey,” she said in a video posted to Instagram profile.
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“...as he didn't say in the video, he did originally say he was from New Jersey, and we stopped it at that, until he took out the Star of David from his shirt and said, "I'm Israeli. I'm from Israel." And that is what got me to say ‘Free Palestine,’” she added.
“Absolutely, I wasn't going to back down on "Free Palestine" when he put the camera in my face. That's just not who I am. I will forever speak on my views. Just... and I will never be scared to say what I think.” Hamilton continued.
“I just wanted to say, my whole point of saying ‘Free Palestine’ was not to spread hate, because the reason I was fired was because I discriminated against him and I had said hate speech.
She launched a GoFundMe campaign titled “Support Arianna After Job Loss for Free Speech,” stating the funds would cover basic expenses such as rent, utilities, and groceries while she seeks work. The fundraiser has raised more than $40,000 so far.
