The US Justice Department has filed a Title II lawsuit against the owners of the Jerusalem Coffee House in Oakland, California, over its refusal to serve Jewish customers, the department announced on Tuesday.
The owners of the café – Fathi Abdulrahim Harara and Native Grounds LLC – are accused of discrimination against Jewish customers, in violation of 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 lawsuit claims that on two separate occasions, Harara ordered Jewish customers – “identified because they were wearing baseball caps with Stars of David on them” – to exit the café.
In one of the incidents on June 10, 2024, an employee told a Jewish customer, Michael Radice, “You’re the Jew. You’re the Zionist. We don’t want you in our coffee shop. Get out.”
In the other, Harara accused another Jewish customer who was with his five-year-old son of supporting “genocide.”
The man, Jonathan Hirsch, can be seen in the video footage from October 26 telling Harara, “you can’t refuse service for a protected class.”
Harara replies that Hirsch is wearing a “violent hat,” in reference to the star on his hat. He then asks Hirsch if he is a Zionist, to which the Jewish customer replies, “I don’t have to identify myself by my belief.”
Harara told Hirsch’s son, “Your dad’s a bitch,” a “dog,” and a “piece of shit.” He then ordered the father and son to leave the café and accused them of “trespassing” to the Oakland police.
The lawsuit adds that neither customer made any mention of their political views to Harara or any other employees while at the coffeehouse.
Drinks named after Hamas, Oct. 7
In addition to refusing to serve Jewish customers, the café allegedly announced two new drinks – “Iced In Tea Fada,” an apparent reference to “intifada,” and “Sweet Sinwar,” an apparent reference to Yahya Sinwar – on the one-year anniversary of the October 7 massacre.
The lawsuit also says that the café’s outside wall has red inverted triangles displayed. The red triangle is frequently used by vandals and pro-Palestine supporters and is seen to symbolize Hamas.
“It is illegal, intolerable, and reprehensible for any American business open to the public to refuse to serve Jewish customers,” said Assistant Attorney-General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
She added that the Justice Department is committed to “combating antisemitism and discrimination and protecting the civil rights of all Americans.”
Under Title II, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division can obtain injunctions to change policies and practices in the event of discrimination; however it cannot seek monetary damages.
Radice, however, sued the café in March with the help of the Anti-Defamation League and Cleveland, Ohio-based law firm Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP.