Treatment of Jewish workers under scrutiny as Aldi store manager suspended amid rising antisemitism in Australia

Mr Potapov, a store manager at Aldi in Melbourne, was left reeling after managers informed him he would be suspended over allegations he made inappropriate racist and political comments to members of his team.

He categorically denies the accusations and tries to overlook that many of the allegations stemmed from a staff member of Palestinian descent who noticed the Star of David necklace.

“He saw my Star of David and asked, ‘Are you Jewish?’ he said. “Yes I am,” Mr Potapov told SkyNews.com.au.

The team member later allegedly said: “It must be like another genocide for you”, which Mr Potapov found “highly inappropriate”.

“Our relationship was very professional and our conversations were always positive, so it really surprised me,” he said.

The letter sent to Mr Potapov detailing the allegations and seen by SkyNews.com.au includes a conversation in September in which a customer entered the store wearing a Palestinian flag T-shirt.

Aldi’s letter alleges that the incident led Mr Potapov to say to a staff member of Palestinian origin: “If Muslims care so much about the war, why don’t they go back to Palestine?”

In a separate, unspecified incident, Mr. Potapov is accused of saying things like “The white way is the right way, so I’ll stick with what I have,” when a staff member attempted to explain. how their names are pronounced.

In another undated incident, a staff member asked Mr. Potapov why there weren’t more black team members in the store, and Mr. Potapov allegedly replied: “If black people would stop committing so many crimes, maybe there would be more around us.”

“Who in their right mind would say that?” Mr Potapov told SkyNews.com.au:

“I was shocked and speechless, I have never said this in my life.

“Can you imagine someone getting these types of performance reviews and then all of a sudden, within a month or two, they go and say all these comments?”

The allegations include comments allegedly made during a team-building meeting where staff members were discussing the US Presidential Election.

Mr. Potapov is accused of saying things like: “She’s black and a woman, I would never vote for her,” and “a half-black woman is still a black woman and they shouldn’t vote,” referring to Kamala Harris. to have that kind of power”; and “I don’t think a woman can be president and that if a woman becomes president, America will be left in the dumps.”

Mr Potapov was particularly shocked by allegations that he had said about an Indigenous Australian on the football team that he “wanted to react strongly to it after their poor performance in the match”, even though there were no Australians on the football team.

While Mr. Potapov addressed each allegation in detail, highlighting that one of the alleged incidents occurred while he was not on shift, he unequivocally stated that he condemned all forms of racism and insisted that he would never make such statements.

But his employer has refused to give him any additional information about the allegations, and he is still in the dark about the future of his job as he grapples with the fact that he may have been pushed away from the job he loves because he is Jewish. .

Mr Potapov had risen through the ranks and received a glowing performance review just months before he was handed a shock suspension.

Despite receiving repeated praise in his final evaluations and stating that management had “developed a great relationship with his team” and that he “enjoyed working together”, Mr Potapov was ordered to hand over the job at the end of October. on your keys.

Lawyer Adam Glezer Consumer ChampionMr Potapov, who represents Mr Potapov, said there had been a worrying increase in antisemitism in Australia since October 7.

“I’ve had people tell me about Jews being mistreated in the workplace and made to feel really uncomfortable,” Mr Glezer told SkyNews.com.au.

“There has been a 300-400 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Australia since October 7.

“Some people will persecute you at work just because you are Jewish, and that is shocking.

“I am deeply moved when I hear about Jews being victimized in the workplace who appear to have done absolutely nothing wrong.”

Mr. Glezer is concerned about the welfare of Jews in the workplace and fears they will become public figures.

“The person who made the allegations about Nikita learned that he was Jewish a few months before reporting him,” he said.

“The sad truth is that there are people who want to make Australian Jews suffer in the workplace and beyond.

“Since October 7, some Jews have been concerned about the reactions of others if they told them they were Jewish.”

A spokesman for Aldi said: “We take such allegations very seriously and have processes in place to ensure they are thoroughly investigated.”

“As this particular case is still an open investigation, we are unable to comment further.”