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California Cafe Kicks Out Man Wearing ‘Violent’ Star of David Baseball Hat, Owner Asks if He’s a ‘Zionist’
Jonathan Hirsch says he was kicked out of the Jerusalem Coffee House in Oakland, California on Oct. 26, 2024 for wearing a hat with the Star of David on it. Photo: Screenshot
A cafe owner in Oakland, California kicked out a man for wearing a Star of David emblazoned on his baseball hat this past weekend, arguing that the religious symbol possesses a “violent” connotation and identifies him as a “Zionist.”
In a video posted on social media, Jonathan Hirsch, who is Jewish, was angrily confronted and asked to leave the Jerusalem Coffee House on the afternoon of Oct. 26 because of his hat. Hirsch and the cafe owner, Abdulrahim Harara, engaged in a heated exchange of words, in which the Jewish man accused the venue of practicing unlawful discrimination.
Jonathan Hirsch, wearing Star of David hat, kicked out of Jerusalem Coffee House in North Oakland by owner. @oaklandpoliceca investigating whether this was hate crime. 6:30,7:15 p.m. #KTVUPlus pic.twitter.com/lJQL90SiL3
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) October 30, 2024
“You’re being asked to leave. You’re causing a disruption. This is a private business. You’re being asked to leave,” Harara said.
“This gentleman asked me to leave because of my hat,” Hirsch said from behind the camera.
“This is a violent hat and you need to leave,” the owner added.
“My hat is violent?” Hirsch asked.
“Yes,” Harara responded.
“You can’t ask me to leave because of my religion,” Hirsch then said.
“Are you a Zionist?” the owner asked.
“I don’t have to identify myself,” Hirsch answered.
“Get out!” Harara ordered.
Hirsch accused the owner of discriminating against him based on his “protected class” and threatened to issue a lawsuit against the venue. The owner then pulled out his phone and threatened to call the police on Hirsch if he did not vacate the premises.
In an interview with local Fox outlet KTVU, Kirsch explained that he regularly wears his hat with the Star of David on it.
“I wear this hat all the time. I mean, I’ve had this hat for years. And it means a lot to me. It’s meant a lot more over the last year,” he said, explaining that he and his 5-year-old son went to the the cafe because his child needed to go to the bathroom and his wife wanted a coffee.
“I wasn’t going out looking for a fight. But when someone comes up to me fighting, I can’t teach my son [that] Jews are these meek people that run and cower,” Hirsch told KTVU.
Videos showed Oakland Police Department officers later arriving at the scene and attempting to de-escalate the situation. They recommended that Hirsch leave when anti-Israel protesters started arriving.
The department is reportedly still investigating and has not determined whether the incident was a hate crime.
The Jerusalem Coffee House, which celebrates Palestinian culture, has previously raised eyebrows for offering two drinks that seemingly hint at support for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and violence against Israel. One drink is called “Iced In Tea Fada,” a reference to extended periods of Palestinian terrorism perpetrated against Israel known as “intifadas,” or violent uprisings.
The other drink is called is called the “Sweet Sinwar.” Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces earlier this month, was the leader of Hamas and architect of the terrorist group’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7. However, Harara denied that the drink was named after the terrorist leader.
The cafe also reportedly displays on its menu inverted red triangles, a symbol used by Hamas to mark Israeli targets.
Jeremy Russell, spokesman for the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area, told KTVU that Saturday’s incident was “one of the most clear-cut cases of anti-Jewish discrimination that I have seen.”
The post California Cafe Kicks Out Man Wearing ‘Violent’ Star of David Baseball Hat, Owner Asks if He’s a ‘Zionist’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.