Jewish customers kicked out of Palestinian coffee shop in CA, federal suit says
Owners of a Palestinian coffee shop in California are being accused of refusing service to Jewish customers on two occasions because of their 'race and religion,' according to a federal lawsuit.
The complaint was filed by the Department of Justice on June 9 against Jerusalem Coffee House, a cafe in Oakland that celebrates 'the rich heritage of Palestinian flavors in coffee,' according to their Instagram.
'It is illegal, intolerable, and reprehensible for any American business open to the public to refuse to serve Jewish customers,' Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in a June 9 news release.
Glenn Katon, the attorney representing the coffee shop, told McClatchy News they reject the accusations that anyone was discriminated against based on their religion at the cafe.
'This lawsuit is part of the (Trump) administration's effort to silence voices for Palestinian human rights by falsely branding those voices as anti-Semitic,' Katon said in a June 11 email. ' ... We look forward to exposing DOJ's case for what it is: a political stunt to try to intimidate people who oppose Israel's genocide and our government's support of it.'
Jewish customers denied service, suit says
Jerusalem Coffee House — which held its grand opening in October 2023, according to an Instagram post — is accused of kicking two Jewish customers out on separate occasions, prosecutors said.
The first incident happened June 10, 2024 when a man wearing a dark-blue baseball cap with a Star of David and a phrase that translates as 'The people of Israel live' tried to enter and was yelled at and accused of 'being complicit in Israel's military actions in the Gaza Strip following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks,' according to the complaint.
He left before entering, but then returned in August for a work event and was recognized from the incident in June, according to the complaint.
'You're the guy with the hat. You're the Jew. You're the Zionist. We don't want you in our coffee shop. Get out,' the man was told by a coffee shop worker, according to the complaint.
In October, a different man, who also wore a blue baseball cap with a Star of David on it, and his 5-year-old son were asked to leave the coffee shop, prosecutors said.
They had entered the coffee shop to buy a drink and use the restroom after having lunch across the street, according to the complaint.
But Katon told McClatchy News he believes that customer 'has a history of inciting conflict' and was asked to leave after harassing customers.
The coffee shop owners are also accused of using symbols of violence against Jews in the names of their drinks and a mural painted on an exterior side wall of the building, prosecutors said.
According to the complaint, the coffee shop sells drinks called 'Iced In Tea Fada,' referencing 'intifada' — a controversial word seen by some as calling for resistance against the Jewish government and others as violence against Jewish people — and 'sweet sinwar,' referencing Yahya Sinwar, former Hamas leader who is credited with planning the Oct. 7 attacks.
''Ice In Tea Fada,' is a play on the Arabic term 'intifada,' which refers to 'shaking off' the Israeli government's terror campaign against Palestinian people,' Katon said.
A wall on the outside of the coffee also 'has or has had' inverted red triangles painted on it, according to prosecutors who view the triangles as 'a symbol of violence against Jews.'
The complaint asks the court to declare the coffee shops policies and practices a violation of the Civil Rights Act, ban them from these practices and take affirmative steps against the 'unlawful conduct.'
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