The Justice Department has filed an anti-discrimination case against the owners of the Jerusalem Coffee House in Oakland, California.
Fathi Abdulrahim Harara and Native Grounds LLC are accused of violating Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin in places of public accommodation. The matter is also the subject of a private lawsuit by the Anti-Defamation League and other groups.
In the ADL complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, there are details on how a Jewish customer was alleged to have been chased from the business by its owner and an employee.
Michael Radice, visited Jerusalem Coffee House in July 2024, wearing a baseball cap with a Star of David icon and the phrase “Am Yisrael Chai” — or “the people of Israel live.”
In approaching the business, Radice says that he was confronted by a man sitting outside who demanded, “Are you a Jew?” After Mr. Radice answered affirmatively, the man verbally attacked him and accused him of being “responsible” for “killing children.”
Radice decided to go back to the business the following month and discovered that the man was an employee at the shop. He alleges that the man with the owner and a third employee forced him to leave and then followed him down the street yelling, “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.” As Mr. Radice walked away, three men followed him, and he heard them calling him “Jew” and “Zionist.”
The federal lawsuit notes that, on the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, the Jerusalem Coffee House announced two new drinks: “Iced In Tea Fada,” an obvious reference to “intifada.” It also introduced as drink, “Sweet Sinwar,” an apparent reference to Yahya Sinwar, the former leader of Hamas who orchestrated the massacre. It also alleges that the coffee house’s exterior side wall displays inverted red triangles, a symbol of violence against Jews that has been spray-painted on Jewish homes and synagogues in anti-Semitic attacks.
Under Title II, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division can seek to force changes in how the coffee shop must remedy alleged discriminatory conduct. In the meantime, the shop will face demands for civil damages in the private lawsuit.
While customers appear undisturbed by drinks named after a mass murderer, the shop itself is likely to find what is coming a bit harder to swallow. It is now facing litigation on two fronts over the treatment of Jewish customers.