Hobby Lobby Releases Apology for Employee's Alleged Comments

“We sincerely apologize for any employee comments that may have offended anyone, especially our Jewish customers and friends. Comments like these do not reflect the feelings of our family or Hobby Lobby," said Hobby Lobby President Steve Green.

The controversy was sparked by a New Jersey blogger, Ken Berwitz, who claimed a friend of his entered the Marlboro Township, NJ store looking for a bar mitzvah card and was told by an employee "We don't cater to you people."

Hobby Lobby representative Vincent Parker initially answered Patch with a brief statement, saying the store is working with buyers and looking into including Jewish holiday decorations.

"Our family has a deep respect for the Jewish faith and those who hold its traditions dear. We're proud contributors to Yad Vashem, as well as to other museums and synagogues in Israel and the United States," Green said. "We are investigating this matter and absolutely do not tolerate discrimination at our company or our stores. We do not have any policies that discriminate; in fact, we have policies that specifically prohibit discrimination."

Green went on to say the chain craft store has previously carry Jewish holiday items in areas the merchandise sells well and "based on customer demand." The company is working with buyers to re-evaluate the holiday items it will carry in the future.

The store is an arts and crafts chain controlled by Green and family in Oklahoma City with 13,000 employees and 525 big-box stores in the United States as of March 2013.

Green's company also runs Mardel, a large chain of Christian bookstores. The company is challenging a requirement in President Barack Obama's revised healthcare legislation that some companies must give insurance coverage for contraception drugs and devices. In December, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor refused to block the mandate. The company was told it could continue its challenge in lower courts. 

On its website, the Hobby Lobby mission includes, "Honoring the Lord in all we do by operating the company in a manner consistent with biblical principles."