Mother Earth’s Storehouse produce Image by facebook

(JTA) — A health food store in southeast New York fired an employee several days after he made anti-Semitic comments and actions toward her.

The worker at Mother Earth’s Storehouse in Ulster, New York turned the light off in the produce cooler and told an employee named Sarah, “You’re in the gas chamber,” then called her a “f**king Jew.”

Sarah’s mother Jackie Winder Shabanowitz of Kerhonkson, New York, posted on Facebook about the March 11 incident on Friday. She also wrote that “Sarah went to management, they told her not speak about (it), removed her from produce which she has been for a year, and put her on the register. The coworker was forced to apologize but still has his job in produce. On Wednesday, the coworker harassed her again to which she reported to management.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Two days after the second incident, the store posted an apology on Facebook and said that the employee had been fired, writing: “The Management of our Kingston store would like to apologize to our community for the upset that has occurred. The situation has been handled and the employee is no longer employed by us. We have never, nor will we ever tolerate hate. We were conducting an investigation.”

One comment in response said that “Instructing an employee to keep quiet about such a hateful and frightening experience was not intelligent or kind, and it amounts to further intimidation.” It also complained that the store took too long to resolve the issue. The store acknowledged in response to the comment that “Management mishandled this.”

Meanwhile, Sarah quit her job, local newspaper the Daily Freeman reported.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount