The Journal has obtained a letter from the CEO of Sightglass Coffee to the company’s leadership team saying that a “Free Palestine” sweater worn by an employee violated company policy.
Zach Ross, a self-described entrepreneur, posted a video of himself on Instagram April 26 having a dialogue with a female employee who said her name is Heather wearing the sweater at a San Francisco Sightglass shop. Ross asks the employee why she’s wearing the sweater, to which Heather replied that “it’s a genocide that’s going on.” Ross then asks Heather how to stop the genocide; at first Heather demurred by saying that it was “an excellent question” and that she was working at the moment. Ross proceeded to ask her if the “genocide” would end if Hamas simply released the hostages that were kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre.
At that point, another female employee stepped in and told Ross to stop taking videos and accused him of harassing Heather (concurrently, Heather said that “this is inappropriate” and walked away from Ross). Two female customers also accused Ross of harassing her, while Ross repeatedly claimed that Heather gave her consent to be recorded.
In his caption below the video on Instagram, Ross wrote that he was thrown out of the coffee shop.
“We must be clear: ‘Free Palestine’ is not a call to end a genocide –– it’s a call to successfully complete one that they started on Oct. 7.” – Zach Ross
“This is what the normalization of antisemitism looks like,” he wrote. “A world where calls for Jewish destruction are accepted as ‘progressive,’ but Jewish pain, grief, and survival are treated as an offense. We must be clear: ‘Free Palestine’ is not a call to end a genocide –– it’s a call to successfully complete one that they started on Oct. 7.”
In the May 8 letter obtained by The Journal, Sightglass CEO Sharon Healy wrote to the coffee shop’s leadership team that they have heard from myriad people who felt that the Free Palestine sweater was antisemitic and an example of hate speech.
“While employees can wear whatever they want when they are not working at our cafes, our dress code policies restrict them from wearing clothing with large graphics, profanity, or imagery and/or text that could be considered offensive or hurtful. To be clear: This sweatshirt is in violation of company policy,” Healy wrote. “The policy does not single out any particular group or cause and is a reflection of our commitment to creating an environment where both our employees and customers can feel safe and respected. We take this commitment seriously and sincerely apologize for any pain the wearing of this sweatshirt may have caused.” She added that “will be providing rigorous sensitivity training for employees and managers. We are reviewing all our policies and procedures to ensure that, as much as humanly possible, something like this never happens again. No one should feel uncomfortable at our cafes either when they are working or as a customer trying to enjoy a cup of coffee or have a conversation in a relaxed and welcoming environment.”
Healy confirmed to The Journal that “this is the letter I wrote and shared with the Sightglass leadership team. We deeply regret the pain this situation has caused our customers, employees, and the broader community. In response, we’ve reached out to Jewish leaders and rabbis to begin rebuilding trust and to seek their guidance.”
She added that “this week, we also held conversations with each of our employees to address their questions and reinforce the importance of following the workplace policies they have signed, policies that are designed to uphold our mission of serving world-class coffee in a warm, respectful, and welcoming environment.”
Previously, Sightglass had posted a statement from Healy to their Instagram account on April 27 that stated in part: “At Sightglass, our mission has always been to serve great coffee in great ways and to create a place that is safe and welcoming for everyone. This means our trusted employees and valued guests. Sightglass welcomes people of all backgrounds and viewpoints. As we have reflected on this moment, we would like to reinforce that Sightglass will continue to be a place that builds community and connections and we will serve with open hearts and open minds.”
In a subsequent video, Ross had said regarding Sightglass’ April 27 statement: “Welcome to 2025 where calling for the destruction of an entire country is somehow a legitimate viewpoint to have as a coffee shop. Yet somehow acknowledging that hostages exist is an unacceptable one. Wild.”
