On the first anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, the cafe unveiled drinks including “Iced in Tea Fada,” a play on “intifada,” and “Sweet Sinwar.”
By United with Israel Staff
An Oakland coffee shop known for its strident anti-Israel activism has temporarily closed as its owners prepare to face a federal civil rights trial over allegations that Jewish customers were discriminated against and expelled from the establishment.
Jerusalem Coffee House, a Palestinian-owned cafe that opened in 2023 with a Palestinian-inspired menu, announced that it would close indefinitely while its owners contend with three lawsuits stemming from two incidents involving Jewish customers in 2024.
The cafe said on Instagram that its owners needed time to “reset ourselves” and “focus on restoring our nervous systems so we can show up for our community and handle these legal issues.”
One of the cases was brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, which has accused proprietor Abdulrahim Harara and Native Grounds LLC of violating Title II of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodation based on race, color, religion or national origin.
The federal case is scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 26.
The lawsuits stem from two separate incidents involving Jewish customers at the cafe in 2024.
In one case, the Anti-Defamation League and law firm Benesch sued on behalf of a Jewish customer who alleges that he was refused service and subjected to antisemitic harassment after visiting the cafe wearing a Star of David hat bearing the Hebrew phrase “Am Yisrael Chai,” meaning “The people of Israel live.”
The customer said he returned to the cafe about a month later, when another confrontation erupted. According to the lawsuit, the owner and other employees followed him outside while calling him a “Jew” and a “Zionist.”
In a separate case, the Louis D. Brandeis Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Jewish father who says he was ejected from the cafe while visiting with his 5-year-old son after the owner confronted him over his Star of David hat, allegedly describing it as “violent.”
The cafe has denied discriminating against Jewish customers and has portrayed the lawsuits as an effort to suppress its pro-Palestinian political expression.
“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 said in an August statement announcing its closure.
The controversy comes against the backdrop of Jerusalem Coffee House’s history of provocative anti-Israel messaging.
On the first anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, the cafe unveiled drinks including “Iced in Tea Fada,” a play on “intifada,” and “Sweet Sinwar,” an apparent reference to former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the Oct. 7 attack.
The menu drew criticism from Jewish advocates, who accused the business of glorifying terrorism and celebrating the mastermind of the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.
Elizabeth Barcohana, the California Republican Party’s Jewish engagement chair and an attorney, accused the cafe of hypocrisy for invoking free-speech protections while facing allegations that it discriminated against Jewish patrons.
“It is ironic that after freely expressing support for terrorism with these beverage names, the café owners appear to now be using the First Amendment as a defense for ejecting two Jewish customers who wore hats with Stars of David on them, in one case calling it a ‘violent’ hat,” Barcohana told Fox News Digital.
“By their own standard, if a hat can be violent, so can an iced tea,” she continued. “The First Amendment protects speech on hats; it does NOT protect businesses open to the public to discriminate against its customers because they’re Jews while chasing them in the street shouting ‘Jew’ at them.”
Barcohana also blasted the cafe’s decision to introduce the controversial menu on the anniversary of the Hamas massacre, in which terrorists murdered approximately 1,200 people and abducted 251 hostages.
The owners have remained defiant, blaming what they described as “Zionist organizations” and the federal government for their mounting legal troubles rather than backing away from their political messaging.
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