Currys ditches Palestine name badges after backlash from shoppers

Currys has reportedly decided to ditch name tags featuring Palestinian flags following complaints from Jewish and Israeli customers.

The retailer, which has around 300 stores in the UK and Ireland, said it brought in a policy of allowing workers to wear name badges featuring the Palestinian flag to let customers know that they could speak Arabic.

But following a number of complaints, the high street giant says it is now looking into other ways to indicate which other languages its staff members can assist customers in, The Telegraph reports.

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) represents two of the shoppers, and wrote to Currys warning that the chain could be in breach of Equalities Act 2000 as the presence of the flag could create “a hostile and intimidating atmosphere for Jewish and Israeli customers”, as per the outlet.

One of them, an Israeli national, had visited a Cambridge branch on February 8 and reportedly complained after being approached by a sales assistant wearing one.

The Israeli customer told them: “I’m sorry, it’s not personal, but I’d like to continue on my own. It’s hard for me because of the flag.”

UKLFI claimed that when another worker offered assistance a manager intervened, allegedly telling her not to serve the shopper because “he was rude”.

The shopper then left the store. Currys said it was investigating what happened, as per the outlet.

Speaking to the newspaper, the Israeli customer said: “The incident has certainly left me feeling insecure and unwelcome. I felt that my right to professional and unbiased treatment was compromised.”

In a separate alleged incident, a Jewish customer who visited a Hemel Hempstead branch last August said he had asked not to be served by a member of staff who was wearing a name badge with the flag on it, later telling the newspaper it made him feel “uncomfortable because it was unnecessary and was clearly there to make a political statement”.

The shopper claimed to have been reprimanded by other staff after taking a photo of the sales assistant wearing the tag.

UKLFI alleges that after the man was “ejected from the shop” he was followed by the same staff member, who then took photographs of his family, their car and its registration number.

Currys said the photograph was taken in response to an offensive gesture allegedly directed towards the member of staff.

UKLFI claimed the flag could cause upset as a symbol of opposition to the state of Israel, and be interpreted as indicating support for Hamas’ terrorist attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which left some 1,200 people dead, with around 250 others taken hostage and held in Gaza.

The attack triggered Israel‘s invasion of the enclave as it vowed to crush the terror group that has controlled the Gaza Strip for two decades.

The war that ensued left more than 48,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, as well as sparking a humanitarian crisis.

The plight of the civilian population prompted a series of large-scale demonstrations against the war around the world, including in central London, with protestors often seen holding Palestinian flags and calling for an end to the fighting, which has been halted by a ceasefire that began on January 19.

UKLFI suggested staff could instead wear tags saying “I speak Arabic’,” in Arabic.

Currys told The Telegraph it was “sorry to learn of two instances of customers feeling unwelcome in our stores because of flags displayed on colleague name badges”.

“As part of our commitment to inclusion for both our customers and colleagues, these badges have included world flags to signal languages spoken,” the retailer added.

“We have reviewed our use of flags on these badges and the use of all world flags has been discontinued. We remain committed to an inclusive Currys where everyone feels welcome.”