Oakland coffee house at center of Star of David hat controversy sued by DOJ

(KRON) — An Oakland coffee house that refused to serve a customer wearing a hat emblazoned with a Star of David last year is being sued by the United States Department of Justice. On Monday, the DOJ announced it had filed a lawsuit against Fathi Abdulrahim Harara and Native Grounds LLC, the owners of the Jerusalem Coffee House on Telegraph Avenue.

The lawsuit, according to the DOJ, alleges the coffee house discriminated against Jewish customers, a 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.”

“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 DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. “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.”

The lawsuit alleges that on two occasions, Harara ordered Jewish customers, who were identified because they were wearing Star of David baseball caps, to leave the business. During one incident, the suit alleges, a Jerusalem Coffee Huse employee told a customer, “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.”

In another incident cited by the lawsuit, a customer wearing a Star of David hat who was with his 5-year-old son was told to leave repeatedly by Harara, who accused him of supporting “genocide” and accused of “trespassing.” That particular incident, which was partially caught on video, was condemned by local leaders including Rep. Ro Khanna and recently elected Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, further alleges that on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks, the coffee house unveiled two new drinks: “Iced In Tea Fada,” and “Sweet Sinwar,” a reference to former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

The coffee shop’s interior walls, according to the lawsuit, displayed inverted red triangles, “a symbol of violence against Jews that has been spraypainted on Jewish homes and synagogues in anti-Semitic attacks.”