London Krav Maga instructor told ‘not to wear kippah at work’

Golan Levy was also asked not to have an Israeli flag visible while remotely training clients.

By David Hellerman, World Israel News

A Jewish self-defense instructor in London is filing a grievance after the security firm he worked for asked him not to wear a kippah or have an Israeli flag visible during remote training, the Jewish Chronicle reported on Thursday.

According to the Chronicle, Securitas UK allegedly made the request after a client complained about Golan Levy, who teaches Krav Maga.

Levy, a 50-year-old Israeli national accused Securitas UK of discrimination and asked his lawyers to take legal action.

“I felt very embarrassed that I’d been told not to wear the kippah,” Levy told the Chronicle. “And, regarding my national flag, it’s like all my belief and all my feelings towards my faith, nationality, and how I’d been brought up, everything has been taken away from me, someone stepped on me.”

Levy added that he usually wears a baseball cap to keep the kippah from falling off, and that nobody ever made an issue of it or the Israeli flag until now.

Acting on the advice of the Community Security Trust, Britain’s antisemitism watchdog organization, Levy raised the issue with the Securitas human resources department and requested an apology in writing.

Securitas is an international firm based in Stockholm and employs 300,000 people world wide.

A spokesman for Securitas UK confirmed to the Chronicle that a grievance was filed and that an investigation was underway.

Krav Maga, which means “contact combat” is a military self-defense and fighting system developed for the IDF. It uses techniques adapted from boxing, wrestling, judo, aikido, and karate with an Israeli emphasis on efficiency and real-world situations.