”After reporting of the incident, we immediately intervened. The employees in question were fired immediately. This event is being seriously evaluated with the rest of the Antwerp team. We do not tolerate racist or discriminatory statements in any way. We take this extremely seriously and act accordingly,”  said the bowling chain owner in a statement.

Two employees of a bowling facility in Antwerp have been fired by following an antisemitic incident which occurred Sunday evening when young Jewish were targeted as they were playing.

Ralph Pais, Vice-President of Yid, an Antwerp-based Center for Jewish Information and Documentation,  told European Jewish Press that the five 18-year-old Jewish men wearing yarmulkes, went to the Gamestate bowling located on the Keyserlei avenue, close to the city’s Jewish quarter.

As they took their seats on the assigned lanes of the  bowling, located on the Keyserlei, close to the Jewish quarter, they saw written on the screen, instead of their names, the title “5 JODEN” which means 5 Jews in Dutch.

Moreover, the young people were ignored throughout by the staff of the establishment, which is normally providing services to all customers, apparently because the were Jewish.

The five also noted that the bowling’s bartender was wearing a t-shirt bearing the words “PALESTINE”, in English and Arabic.

‘’This is not the first time that anti-Semitic incidents have occurred in this establishment,’’ Pais said. ”In recent months, several reports have been made concerning Gamestate Antwerpen, one of which was the subject of a formal complaint.”

Gamestate is a Dutch bowling chain which owns 16 establishments in five European countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland and Slovakia.

After being informed of the incident, the chain owner, Roel Veltmeijer, issued a statement saying that the group was ‘’shocked and disappointed’’ by the incident in their Antwerp facility during which two employees acted in a ‘’racist and anti-Semitic way.’’ ”We offer our sincere apologies to anyone who feels hurt or excluded by this. This behavior absolutely does not fit with the values of Gamestate, where inclusivity, respect and fun are paramount.’’

The statement adds: ”After reporting of the incident, we immediately intervened. The employees in question were fired immediately. This event is being seriously evaluated with the rest of the Antwerp team. We do not tolerate racist or discriminatory statements in any way. We take this extremely seriously and act accordingly.”