Hobby Lobby came under fire this week when a New Jersey man complained about treatment he says a Jewish woman received when she asked about the lack of Jewish-themed merchandise in the company’s stores. Hobby Lobby’s owner and president, a conservative evangelical Christian, issued an apology late yesterday but didn’t go so far as to say the chain will begin carrying items related to Jewish holidays. From Religion News Service:
The owner of the Hobby Lobby craft store chain, under fire because his stores do not carry Hanukkah merchandise, apologized for employee comments “that may have offended anyone, especially our Jewish customers and friends.”
Many Jews and others took offense after reading a Sept. 27 blogpost by a Marlboro, N.J. man who wrote that a Hobby Lobby employee told a Jewish woman that “we don’t cater to you people” after she asked if the store carried bar mitzvah cards.
“Our family has a deep respect for the Jewish faith and those who hold its traditions dear,” read a statement issued late Thursday (Oct. 3) by Hobby Lobby president Steve Green.
… Green, a conservative billionaire, owns more than 550 Hobby Lobby stores nationwide, all of which are closed on Sunday, the Christian Sabbath. He is also known for his lawsuit against President Obama’s health care law, which he said forces him to provide employees with free insurance coverage for some contraceptive services that he objects to on religious grounds.
Read more.