ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Afghan-American eyebrow salon owner in Northern Virginia is facing intense backlash after she ordered a Jewish client out of her shop, refused to refund a deposit, and declared she would not serve someone with ties to Israel.
Fatana Karimi, owner of Karimi Brows in Old Town Alexandria, posted a video of the confrontation that has gone viral. In the footage, Karimi confronts the client after learning the woman is Jewish and half-Israeli and holds favorable views of Israeli Jews. Karimi can be heard justifying her decision, stating that for her, “Israel isn’t politics,” while asserting the client needed to leave immediately.
According to the client’s detailed account, the appointment began amiably. The two women discussed Afghanistan, poetry, and food. The client, who had just finished writing a novel, shared the premise: an Afghan Muslim refugee and the son of Jewish immigrants form an unlikely friendship in post-9/11 America and later serve together in the U.S. Army. When the client noted her own Jewish and half-Israeli background, the tone shifted abruptly.
“Get out of my shop,” Karimi allegedly told her. She declared she could not provide service to an Israeli because it violated her political beliefs, claimed “there is no such thing as Israel,” and described the land as “Palestine” that was “stolen by Jews from New York.”
The client requested her deposit back, saying she had no idea the service would be denied based on her ethnicity. Karimi refused. Video of the exchange shows the client insisting she had not initiated political discussion about Israel and had simply come for a brow appointment.
Karimi later posted online framing the refusal as a stand against what she called genocide in Gaza and chanting “Free, free Palestine.”
The incident has drawn sharp condemnation. Jewish advocacy groups and online commenters have called it a clear case of discrimination. Under federal civil rights law and Virginia public accommodations statutes, businesses open to the public generally cannot refuse service based on national origin, ethnicity, or religion. Attorneys and groups monitoring antisemitism have offered to assist the client, who has indicated she plans to pursue legal action.
Critics pointed to the stark irony: the client’s novel celebrated friendship and shared American service between Afghan and Jewish characters, yet the real-life encounter ended in rejection. Some observers described the episode as a wake-up call about rising antisemitism and the challenges of integrating immigrants from regions where hostility toward Israel and Jews remains widespread.
Karimi has maintained she has the right to refuse service based on her principles. The salon is located at 908 King Street in Alexandria. The client has not been publicly named.
The viral video continues to circulate widely, fueling debate over the limits of personal political beliefs in private businesses and whether such refusals cross into illegal discrimination.
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