Jerusalem Coffee House, a Palestinian-owned establishment that opened in 2023, had already attracted widespread condemnation for its provocative anti-Israel messaging.
By United with Israel Staff
The owner of a controversial California coffee shop accused of refusing service to Jewish customers has been ordered to pay $59,000 in court sanctions after repeatedly defying a federal judge’s orders to turn over evidence.
In an October 29 ruling, US Magistrate Judge Thomas Hixson found that Fathi Abdulrahim Harara, owner of Jerusalem Coffee House in Oakland, violated at least six court orders in a discrimination lawsuit brought by Jewish customer Michael Radice.
Harara repeatedly failed to produce requested evidence, submitted incomplete records and withheld emails without a legitimate explanation, according to the ruling.
The judge was particularly critical of Harara’s failure to provide the emails, writing that there was “no good excuse” for his conduct.
“He needs to pay for what he did,” Hixson declared.
Although Radice’s attorneys sought $166,500 in sanctions, the judge reduced the amount to $59,000, criticizing the legal team’s “excessive ferocity” in pursuing the case.
The ruling does not establish whether the coffee shop unlawfully discriminated against Jewish customers, an allegation at the center of three separate lawsuits.
The legal battle stems from two incidents in 2024 involving Jewish patrons wearing baseball caps displaying Stars of David.
Radice alleges that he was harassed and ordered to leave the establishment after entering with a hat bearing the Hebrew phrase “Am Yisrael Chai,” meaning “The people of Israel live.”
During a subsequent visit, he claims Harara and employees followed him outside while shouting insults identifying him as a Jew and Zionist.
In another incident, Jewish customer Jonathan Hirsch said he was confronted while visiting the cafe with his five-year-old son.
Video footage showed Harara objecting to Hirsch’s Star of David cap, describing it as “a violent hat.”
“Are you a Zionist? Then get out!” Harara told him.
The incidents prompted lawsuits from the customers and the US Department of Justice, which accused the establishment of violating federal civil rights protections prohibiting religious discrimination in businesses open to the public.
“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 when the Justice Department announced its lawsuit.
Jerusalem Coffee House, a Palestinian-owned establishment that opened in 2023, had already attracted widespread condemnation for its provocative anti-Israel messaging.
On October 7, 2024, the first anniversary of Hamas’ massacre in Israel, the cafe introduced drinks called “Sweet Sinwar” and “Iced In Tea Fada.”
The names appeared to reference Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader responsible for orchestrating the October 7 massacre, and the term “intifada.”
The cafe also displayed inverted red triangles, a symbol used in Hamas propaganda videos to mark Israeli targets.
Facing mounting legal expenses, Jerusalem Coffee House suspended operations in August 2026, announcing that its owners needed time to address the lawsuits.
Rather than acknowledge wrongdoing, the business accused Jewish organizations and the federal government of attempting to suppress its political views.
“These lawsuits represent the ongoing efforts of Zionist organizations and the federal government to use the courts as a tool to repress free speech and public political commitments to Palestine,” the cafe declared.
The business has denied discriminating against Jewish customers.
Despite Harara’s repeated violations of court orders, Judge Hixson declined to impose more severe sanctions that could have effectively decided the case without a trial, finding that sufficient evidence remained available for the litigation to proceed.
Harara was ordered to pay the $59,000 sanction within 30 days.
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