The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is accusing the owner of an Oakland, California, coffee shop of discrimination after the shop allegedly refused to serve two Jewish customers.
Filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the suit comes amidst rising political and cultural tensions in the United States against the backdrop of the armed conflict in Gaza.
The DOJ is accusing Fathi Abdulrahim Harara, the owner of Jerusalem Coffee House in North Oakland, of asking customers wearing hats with the Star of David on them to leave the shop on multiple occasions.
In a statement to Daily Coffee News, a lawyer representing Harara characterized the lawsuit as “a political stunt designed to intimidate people who oppose Israel’s genocide and our government’s support of it.”
The DOJ case follows at least two other state-level court cases stemming from the alleged incidents, which date back to 2023. One of those incidents was caught on camera by alleged victim Jonathan Hirsch, who according to a San Francisco Standard report, “has a history of loud public fights.”
The DOJ suit is also notably one of the first major acts from U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, a prominent right-wing lawyer and regular Fox News guest who was tapped by Donald Trump to lead the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
“It is illegal, intolerable, and reprehensible for any American business open to the public to refuse to serve Jewish customers,” Dhillon said in a DOJ press release yesterday. “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 combatting anti-Semitism and discrimination and protecting the civil rights of all Americans.”
On the Jerusalem Coffee House website, the shop says it is “directly linked in heart and faith to liberation struggles around the world” while providing “a truly welcoming abode to our people of Palestine, Oakland, the Bay Area and beyond.”
Glenn Katon, who was named in the suit as Harara’s lawyer, said that the coffee shop owner “abhors anti-Semitism.”
“The Trump administration is unabashedly trying to silence voices for Palestinian human rights by branding them as anti-Semitic,” Katon told DCN. “This case by the government is another unfortunate example of the effort to distract Americans from Israel’s atrocities.”
Under Title II, the DOJ can obtain injunctive relief that changes policies and practices to remedy the discriminatory conduct, but it cannot seek monetary damages for individuals identified as the alleged victims of discrimination.
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Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
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