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US Justice Department Sues California Coffee House for Alleged Discrimination Against Jewish Customers
US Attorney General Pam Bondi attends a press conference in Washington, DC, US, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
The US Department of Justice has sued an Oakland, California, business accused of denying service to Jewish and pro-Israel customers, an alleged act of discrimination that would violate federal civil rights statutes.
Justice Department officials on Monday said they pursued litigation under Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — a provision of the law which proscribes denying public accommodations based on race, color, religion, or national origin.
“It is illegal, intolerable, and reprehensible for any American business open to the public to refuse to serve Jewish customers,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said in a statement announcing the action. “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 antisemitism and discrimination and protecting the civil rights of all Americans.”
As previously reported by The Algemeiner, Jerusalem Coffee House owner Abdulrahim Harara in October confronted Jonathan Hirsch, a Jewish man who was wearing a hat emblazoned with a Star of David patch, charging that the apparel carried a “violent” connotation and labeled him as a “Zionist” — a perceived offense for which he demanded that Hirsch leave the premises without completing his order.
“You’re being asked to leave. You’re causing a disruption. This is a private business. You’re being asked to leave,” Harara was overheard saying in footage of the incident. “This is a violent hat, and you need to leave … Get out!”
The police soon arrived and recommended that Hirsch leave when anti-Israel protesters started arriving.
The Jerusalem Coffee House, which celebrates Palestinian culture, has previously stirred controversy for offering two drinks that seemingly indicate 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 last year, was the leader of Hamas and mastermind of the terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel. While the drinks were debuted on the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 atrocities, Harara denied that the drink was named after the terrorist leader.
Hirsch is not the only Jewish patron who was allegedly refused service by Harara. In June 2024, local nonprofit director Michael Radice, who is Jewish, was wearing a cap which said “Am Yisrael Chai [Long Live Israel]” at Jerusalem Coffee House when Harara and another employee began shouting “Jew” and “Zionist” at him, according to court documents. The two men menacingly pursued Radice into the street, forcing him to maneuver around a parked car to create a defensive barrier against their advance, prosecutors alleged.
“Neither customer stated anything about their political views to Harara or any other employees while at the coffee house,” the Justice Department said on Monday. “The lawsuit further alleges that the coffee house’s exterior side wall displays inverted red triangles, a symbol of violence against Jews that has been spray painted on Jewish homes and synagogues during antisemitic attacks.”
The Trump administration’s Justice Department has launched a robust effort to fight antisemitism at every level of society. In February, it created a “multi-agency” Task Force to Combat Antisemitism. Its “first priority will be to root out antisemitic harassment in schools and on college campuses,” the department said in a press release, which noted that the group will be housed inside the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and include representatives from the departments of education and health and human services.
The announcement came less than a week after US President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to combat campus antisemitism and hold pro-terror extremists accountable for the harassment of Jewish students, fulfilling a promise he made while campaigning for a second term in office. Continuing work started started during his first administration — when Trump issued Executive Order 13899 to ensure that civil rights law apply equally Jews — the new executive order, titled, “Additional Measures to Combat Antisemitism” calls for “using all appropriate legal tools to prosecute, remove, or otherwise … hold to account perpetrators of unlawful antisemitic harassment and violence.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post US Justice Department Sues California Coffee House for Alleged Discrimination Against Jewish Customers 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.