Jessica Walton’s visit to Karimi Brows in Alexandria took an unexpected turn when the owner, Fatana Karimi, asked her to leave. Walton, who identifies as Jewish and Israeli-American, recounted the incident, which Karimi later shared a portion of on social media.
During the appointment, Walton and Karimi engaged in a lengthy conversation about Afghanistan. Walton, who recently authored a novel featuring the region, shared stories from her interviews with Afghan locals. They also discussed their mutual appreciation for Afghan poetry and cuisine.
— Gary Weiss (@gary_weiss) August 15, 2026
The situation escalated when Walton introduced a character from her novel who is Jewish and half-Israeli, revealing her own Jewish and half-Israeli background.
According to Walton, this is when Karimi told her she needed to leave the salon.
“Get out of my shop.”
“Excuse me?”
“I can’t provide service to an Israeli. It’s against my political beliefs. You need to leave immediately.”
Walton says Karimi also told her there was “no such thing as Israel” and described Israel as Palestine stolen by Jews. Karimi’s own video starts later, after the two women were already arguing, so those remarks aren’t on the clip.
Writer Gary Weiss posted Walton’s account Friday and also pointed to the video Karimi had released from the salon.
The shop owner is proud of her behavior. https://t.co/NmUM1DNGhb
— Gary Weiss (@gary_weiss) August 15, 2026
In the video, Karimi tells Walton that she had signed a photo-video release. A few seconds later, Karimi says Walton “kept saying Israel” and was “talking about politics.” Walton says she thought they had been talking about Afghanistan.
KARIMI: “You can defend it as much as you want, but this is my business.”
WALTON: “That’s totally fine. But you should give me my deposit back. And if you don’t, I’m going to have to take legal action.”
StopAntisemitism picked up the story and posted video of the encounter, describing it as a Jewish customer being thrown out over her ethnicity. The group also offered to help Walton find legal representation.
Fatana Karimi, owner of Karimi Brows in Alexandria VA, kicks out a Jewish client over her Israeli ethnicity.
Attorneys – our DM’s are open, we’re happy to connect you with the victim! pic.twitter.com/0hf9reDAtA
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) August 15, 2026
Karimi posted her own version on the business’s social media. In it, she accused Walton of “forcing heavy political debates” and said she had repeatedly asked to keep the conversation neutral.
Karimi also uploaded a longer video explaining why she ended the appointment.
In that video, Karimi says she tried several times to get the conversation back to eyebrows. She says Walton kept returning to Afghanistan, including 9/11 and Afghan political figures, before the discussion eventually got to Israel.
Karimi said Walton told her about the two main characters in her novel, a Muslim Afghan refugee and the son of Jewish immigrants. Karimi says she liked the premise, but told Walton:
“Everything sounds beautiful except for the Israeli part.”
Walton later mentioned that she was Israeli-American herself. Karimi said she initially ignored it because some Israelis oppose the Israeli government.
The argument eventually turned to whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Karimi ended the appointment.
She later explained what Walton could have said instead:
“It would be different if you said something like, ‘Yes, there is a genocide. I don’t support what the Israeli government is doing.’ Yeah, I would have slid by.”
Walton could have stayed if she had agreed with Karimi on that point.
Karimi also mentioned she had an Instagram post saying she wouldn’t serve Israel supporters, and there’s a “Free Palestine” sticker in the salon. Walton says she never saw either before she booked.
Karimi’s official site says the business exists to provide personalized eyebrow tattoo services in the D.C. area. The mission statement promises that anyone in the chair will leave with “confidence, hope, and feeling of sisterhood/family.” The site lists men, women, LGBTQ+ customers, and “anyone” as the clientele.
Apparently, “anyone” needed some clarification.
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Virginia law bars discrimination in public accommodations based on religion and national or ethnic origin, among other categories. It applies to businesses offering goods or services to the public. Whether Walton pursues a complaint over what happened at Karimi Brows is a separate question.
Walton said she asked for her deposit back after the appointment ended. Her bank refunded the money after she disputed the charge. She also said she planned to contact civil rights organizations in the D.C. area.
Karimi’s own explanation was that Walton “would have slid by” if she had agreed there was a genocide and said she did not support the Israeli government.
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