Australian hair salon owner throws out man for being Israeli

Melbourne hair salon owner calls Israeli man a “baby killer” and kicks him out after recognizing his accent.

By World Israel News Staff

An Australian hair salon owner is under fire this week, after she booted an Israeli man living in Australia from her establishment once she became aware of his nationality.

Last Monday, the man, who has asked to remain anonymous, visited the Juniper Salon in Bentleigh, a suburb of Melbourne.

During his visit, the owner and operator of the salon, Katrina Ann Smith, recognized the man’s accent as being Israeli.

Once she had identified the patron as Israeli, Smith launched into an anti-Israel rant, calling the man a “genocidal baby killer” and ultimately demanding he leave the salon.

“She heard my accent and asked, ‘Where are you from?’ I said ‘I’m from Israel’ and she said, ‘You can leave’. Once I left, she called me a baby killer and she closed the door,” the man told Rebel News.

Speaking with Israel’s national broadcaster Kan, the man said that the woman threw him out of the salon after she found he had served in the IDF.

“She asked if I served in the army, I told her yes, and she told me to get out. It developed from there,” he said.

“I’ve lived in Australia for six years. I’ve seen antisemitism here a few times, it didn’t really surprise me. There’s a lot of hatred of Israelis and Jews here.”

“From the Australians I’ve met, it seems like they like us quite a bit. The big protests you see here are either extreme leftists or Muslim immigrants.”

On Thursday, Avi Yemini, a correspondent for Rebel News, confronted Smith over the incident.

Smith defended her actions, denying that removing a man over his Israeli citizenship violated Australian laws against discrimination based on nationality.

“Israelis aren’t a race,” Smith said. “Now f*** off.”

Some 150 pro-Israel activists gathered outside the salon on Monday to protest Smith’s actions.

Smith, whose salon had already been slated to shut down in September even prior to last week’s incident, claimed that she has been the target of an “intimidation campaign,” including death threats.

“Last Monday I was working in the salon and had a ‘Feed Gaza Now’ chalkboard out on the street,” Smith wrote on Facebook.

“A man came in and asked for a haircut so I sat him down and discussed what he would like done. I asked him where he was from and he said from Israel, and so I asked him whether he was in the Israeli Defense Forces.”

“He replied that he was and so I told him that I wouldn’t be able to cut his hair and asked him to leave as I am opposed to the actions of that army. He left the salon.”

“I am well within my rights to refuse service on the grounds that I abhor the actions of that army,” Smith said.