Jewish students denied entrance to UK store by security guard

(Photo: REUTERS / Fabrizio Bensch)German Cardinal Reinhard Marx of the Roman Catholic Church, Nikolaus Schneider, President of the council of the Evangelical Church in Germany, World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder , German President Joachim Gauck, Dieter Graumann, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Daniela Schadt partner of President Gauck and Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit (L-2nd R) pose on stage after an anti-Semitism demo at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate September 14, 2014. At right is TV presenter Cherno Jobatey.

A British retailer has fired a security guard who barred a group of Jewish schoolchildren from entering the store.

Students from the Jewish secondary school Yaveneh College in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire near London were surprised when the guard of Sports Direct blocked them from entering the branch on September 11.

Seventh grade students Nathan Rosen and Daniel Levitan were told: "No Jews, no Jews," the Jewish Chronicle reported September 15.

David Rosen, the father of one of the boys told the MailOnline: "My son was hugely offended, it was his first proper week at the school and he only went in to look at trainers."

"He was in an anxious state afterwards and clearly upset," Rosen, who is a lawyer, said.

In a Facebook post, he wrote that other children from the same school whose uniforms were covered with coats were let in without question.

Rosen, former head of the Yavneh Association committee, complained to the manager immediately and said that the matter was taken extremely seriously by the management.

"Simon Bentley, the senior independent director at Sports Direct, contacted me, and having thoroughly investigated the matter, apologized," said Rosen.

The store manager removed the guard and liaised with the security company which employed the individual.

"The guard was deeply offensive and disrespectful to the school children. We take pride in the lack of prejudice amongst our trained staff and will not tolerate discrimination of any kind," said Rosen.

The incident at Sports Direct is the latest in the growing number of anti-Semitic incidents in the UK says UK anti-Semitism watchdog, the Community Security Trust.

CST revealed that anti-Semitism incidents in the first half of 2014 in Britain jumped by 400 percent from the preceding year. The increase coincided with Israel's 50-Day war over rocket attacks from Gaza,

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