The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit Monday against a coffee house in Oakland, California, for discrimination against Jews. The suit alleges that the Jerusalem Coffee House violates the Civil Rights Act.
The suit names the establishment and owner as defendants in the case filed in federal court in California’s Northern District.
DOJ attorneys said the coffee house not only refused to sell products to a visiting Los Angeles Jewish resident, but also got involved in a verbal assault against him due to his being Jewish, and followed him outside and continued their verbal assault against him.
The suit also charges the coffee house with public displays of anti-antisemitism, including naming coffee drinks that could only be interpreted as an affront to Jews.
The suit described the coffee house posting about the new drinks on its Instagram account, which referenced the leader of Hamas, who is believed to have masterminded the October 7 attacks on Israel. The suit noted that the post announcing the new drinks went up on October 7, 2023, the one-year observance of the attacks.
A DOJ release on the suit said the establishment also had exterior building displays showing “inverted red triangles, a symbol of violence against Jews that has been spray painted on Jewish homes and synagogues in anti-Semitic attacks.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said, “It is illegal, intolerable, and reprehensible for any American business open to the public to refuse to serve Jewish customers.” She added that the department “is committed to combating anti-Semitism and discrimination and protecting the civil rights of all Americans.”
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