The owners and employees of Jerusalem Coffee House in Oakland, California, were sued by the Justice Department for allegedly discriminating against Jewish customers. The lawsuit was announced in a press release issued by the DOJ on Monday.
Fathi Abdulrahim Harara and Native Grounds LLC are accused of discriminating against two Jewish customers over several months in 2024. In both instances, Harara asked two different Jewish men, identified as such because each wore a baseball hat with the Star of David on it, to leave the establishment, according to the official complaint.
The company’s owners 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.”
In the first incident on Aug. 3, 2024, one of the coffee shop’s employees recognized the Jewish man from a hostile exchange the two had months earlier outside the shop. He recognized him because of his hat.
“You’re the guy with the hat,” an unidentified employee yelled at a Jewish customer. “You’re the Jew. You’re the Zionist. We don’t want you in our coffee shop. Get out.”
After leaving, Harara and another employee allegedly followed him outside the coffee shop, yelling the words “Jew,” “Zionist,” and other “insults and epithets” at him, according to the complaint.
In the second incident, on Oct. 26, 2024, a different Jewish man and his five-year-old son entered Jerusalem Coffee House to use the bathroom. Afterward, the man and his son noticed a chessboard in the establishment and played a game. Shortly thereafter, Harara confronted the man and asked if he was wearing a “Jewish star” and if he was a “Zionist.”
Within a few minutes, Harara demanded that the man and his son leave, claiming they were “trespassing” and “causing a disruption.” He made the same accusations to the Oakland Police Department when law enforcement officials were called because the situation escalated. As the Jewish man and his son were walking out of the coffee shop with the police officers who responded, Harara continued to yell insults at him, calling him such names as “a dog,” “a piece of s***,” and a “b****.” Harara also told the 5-year-old that his father “was a b****,” according to the official complaint.
Additionally, the coffee shop is accused of offering two beverages to customers to commemorate the one-year “anniversary” of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas. One drink was called “Iced In Tea Fada,” a reference to “intifada.” The second beverage was named “Sweet Sinwar,” a reference to the former Hamas leader behind the attacks, Yahya Sinwar. Furthermore, the exterior wall of Jerusalem Coffee House displayed “inverted red triangles,” a symbol of hate and antisemitism used against Jewish people.
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Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, blasted the coffee shop, calling their actions “reprehensible.”
“It is illegal, intolerable, and reprehensible for any American business open to the public to refuse to serve Jewish customers,” Dhillon said. “Through our vigorous enforcement of Title II of the Civil Rights Act and other laws prohibiting race and religious discrimination, the Justice Department is committed to combating antisemitism and discrimination and protecting the civil rights of all Americans.”
