The US Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against a California cafe, alleging that it discriminated against Jewish customers by refusing to serve them.
It accuses the Jerusalem Coffee House in Oakland of telling Jewish patrons to leave the premises, in violation of civil rights laws.
“It is illegal, intolerable, and reprehensible for any American business open to the public to refuse to serve Jewish customers,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a Monday statement, the day the suit was filed.
It was submitted to the US District Court for the Northern District of California under Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which enables prosecutors to obtain “injunctive relief that changes policies and practices to remedy the discriminatory conduct,” but not monetary damages for the discrimination victims, the statement noted.
Court documents allege that on two separate occasions, cafe owner Fathi Abdulrahim Harara ordered Jewish customers to leave the eatery. The customers were identified as Jewish “because they were wearing baseball caps with Stars of David on them,” according to the statement.
On one occasion, an employee at the cafe told a man, “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.”
In the second incident, Harara was said to have accused a Jewish customer, who was with his five-year-old son, of wearing a “Jewish star,” being a “Zionist,” and supporting “genocide.” Harara repeatedly told them to leave and “falsely accused” them of trespassing to the police.
“Neither customer stated anything about their political views to Harara or any other employees while at the coffee house,” the statement noted.
The lawsuit also alleges that on the first anniversary of the devastating Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, the Jerusalem Coffee House announced it would be serving two new drinks: “Sweet Sinwar,” a reference to the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who masterminded the attack that killed 1,200 people, and “Iced In Tea Fada,” named after “intifada,” the word denoting Palestinian uprisings, the second of which killed some 1,000 Israelis two decades ago.
In addition, the lawsuit notes that an exterior side wall of the coffee house displays inverted red triangles, “a symbol of violence against Jews that has been spray-painted on Jewish homes and synagogues in anti-Semitic attacks.”
The symbol is used in Hamas propaganda videos to indicate military targets. At the time that the new drinks were announced, last October, reports said that the red triangles also featured in the menu’s design motif.
“The Justice Department is committed to combating anti-Semitism and discrimination and protecting the civil rights of all Americans,” Dhillon said in the statement.
The Hamas attack triggered the ongoing Gaza war. Israeli forces killed Sinwar during fighting in the coastal enclave last year.
Jerusalem Coffee House opened in 2023 and, according to the publication Eater, is owned by Abdulrahim “Raheem” Harara, whose parents were born in Gaza. The café serves food and drink inspired by Palestinian cuisine. It also hosts fundraisers for the Palestinian Children Relief Fund, various workshops related to Palestinian culture, and events for the Muslim community and local activists.
JTA contributed to this report.