A brewing conflict over a business owner abruptly ending an appointment with an American-Israeli Jewish client and posting a video of their exchange that later went viral is raising questions about civil rights and what constitutes unlawful discrimination.
The Brandeis Center, a national nonprofit legal advocacy organization that works to combat antisemitism, submitted a complaint on the client's behalf to the Virginia attorney general's office on Sept. 2, asking its civil rights division to investigate whether the business owner illegally turned the woman away because of her identity.
The Aug. 13 appointment at Karimi Brows in Alexandria, Virginia, was going well until client Jessica Walton told business owner Fantana Karimi, who is from Afghanistan,
that she'd recently finished writing a book about the country that included a Jewish/Israeli protagonist, the complaint said. Walton then disclosed her Jewish identity and status as a dual American and Israeli citizen.
Karimi immediately "changed course, removed her gloves, terminated the appointment and directed Jessica to leave while product remained on her eyebrows," the complaint said.
"Ms. Karimi stated, in sum and substance, that it is against her political beliefs to provide service to an Israeli," the complaint said.
Karimi disputed such allegations in social media posts on the matter and said the conflict stemmed from her own support for Palestine, which conflicted with Walton's views on Israel.
The complaint said Walton has since received a "barrage of harassment and threats," and Karimi also wrote that she'd been targeted through mass negative online reviews for her business.
USA TODAY reached out to Karimi for comment.
Kenneth Marcus, the Brandeis Center's founder and CEO, called it antithetical to American values to "force any person to condemn a foreign state or pass a political litmus test before receiving the same services available to others."
"No one should walk into a business, disclose who they are and suddenly be told that their ethnic or religious identity makes them not only unworthy of service but fair-game for public scorn," Marcus said in the organization's Sept. 2 news release.
What the video shows
Karimi posted a video showing part of the exchange on Aug. 14, which did not identify Walton by name. The caption said a client "repeatedly crossed professional boundaries by forcing heavy political debates, denying ongoing human rights crises – Palestinian genocide – and making targeted comments about my culture and heritage."
The video starts with Walton saying Karimi "stole money" from her by not returning her deposit after ending the appointment. Walton asked Karimi to stop recording, and Karimi responded saying Walton had signed a video release form.
Walton threatened legal action over the deposit and disputed Karimi's assertion that she'd been discussing politics related to Israel.
Karimi said she'd posted on Instagram that she wouldn't provide service to people who support Israel and referenced a "Free Palestine" sticker in her studio. She said for her, "Israel isn't politics – it's a genocide," to which Walton responded with her view that there "is no genocide."
"It would be different if you said something like, 'yes there is a genocide, I don't support what the Israeli government is doing,'" Karimi said. "Yeah, I would've ... let it slide by."
Other accounts reposted the video on TikTok, garnering hundreds of thousands of likes.
A subsequent video on Aug. 16 included a screenshot of Walton's Facebook post on the incident. In both posts, Karimi said the conflict was not about Walton's ethnicity or nationality.
Karimi said the incident prompted "hate and threats" through her email and phone number in addition to the influx of negative reviews.
'I don't hide the fact that I don't support Israel,' owner says
In a separate video in which she outlined what led up to the exchange shown on the viral video, Karimi said Walton discussed the premise of her novel, which included a Muslim Afghan boy and Jewish Israeli boy coming to America.
"I was like, everything sounds beautiful except for the Israeli part," Karimi said in her video commentary. "I don't hide the fact that I don't support Israel and I don't like Israel."
Walton then, according to Karimi, said she was American-Israeli, which ultimately led to a disagreement about Israel's lineage. At that point, Karimi said she stopped Walton to end the appointment.
When Walton questioned whether it was because of her ethnicity, Karimi said she told Walton it was about repeatedly invoking a political discussion. Walton then allegedly accused Karimi of racism, at which point Karimi said she started recording the video.
Civil rights implications are 'too important to disregard'
Among other requests, the complaint asked Virginia's Office of Civil Rights to investigate the matter and determine whether Karimi violated the Virginia Human Rights Act, which bars discrimination in places of public accommodation over factors including religion and ethnic or national origin. It also asked for the office to require Karimi's business to have a written nondiscrimination policy and complete a civil rights training.
Omer Wiczyk, senior counsel at the Brandeis Center, told USA TODAY they are exploring other potential legal avenues beyond the civil rights complaint.
Regardless of the outcome of the matter, Wiczyk said the harassment and threats, including rape and death threats, have had a "significant impact" on Walton's life. She is "fully aware" they will likely continue, he said, adding that Walton is nevertheless raising the issue because she "understands the civil rights implications here are too important to disregard."
BrieAnna Frank is a First Amendment reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at bjfrank@usatoday.com.
USA TODAY's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Woman says shop owner refused service over her Jewish, Israeli identity
