Tense moment McDonald’s worker chants ‘Free Palestine’ at drive-thru customers as they were complaining about their order
McDonald’s has taken a young worker off its roster after she was filmed telling a pair of Jewish customers ‘free Palestine’.
The customers, Asaf and Matan, filmed the interaction with the McDonald’s worker at Cannon Hill, in Brisbane east, on Tuesday night after they claimed she turned verbally ‘abusive’.
The situation unfolded when the pair were missing a Quarter Pounder burger from their order, so they pulled up to a drive-thru window to ask for it, with the worker then demanding to know where they were from.
Footage showed one of the men telling the worker they ‘didn’t get’ the burger, and the staff member argued she had put in the bag.
After less than a minute, the worker cut off the customer and asked: ‘Where are you from?’
‘I live here in [the adjacent suburb of] Carina. My accent? I’m from Israel,’ one of the men said.
The McDonald’s employee then fired off: ‘Free Palestine.’
‘What do you mean?’ the Jewish man asked, which prompted the worker to repeat again: ‘Free, free Palestine.’
Two Jewish men were ‘shaken’ after a worker at McDonald’s Cannon Hill (above) chanted ‘free Palestine’ at them when they asked about a missing burger
Asaf on Sunday told the Courier Mail he was left ‘shaken’ by the confrontation.
He further made unproven allegations the staff member had called he and Matan ‘baby killers’ and accused them of lying about the missing burger.
A McDonald’s Australia spokesperson said the fast food giant was aware of the alleged incident.
She said the staff member had been suspended pending its own investigation into the incident.
‘McDonald’s sincerely apologises to the customers for their experience,’ she said.
‘As soon as we were made aware, we took immediate action and the employee has been stood down pending the outcome of our investigation.
‘McDonald’s has a zero-tolerance policy for acts of hate and antisemitism in our restaurants and communities.’
The spokeswoman added McDonald’s is committed to making a ‘safe, respectful and inclusive environments for our customers and crew’.
McDonald’s confirmed the worker has been removed pending an investigation into the incident
Asaf was glad to hear the worker had been removed.
‘I think it’s good that they are taking care of that,’ he said.
‘I’m not scared, but I don’t feel comfortable coming to this place.’
The Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies said the interaction was the 100th report of antisemitism it had received in 2026.
Asaf spoke with Queensland Police about the interaction and was referred to the Australian Human Rights Commission.
It is unclear if he has lodged an official report.
