An Oakland Palestinian-owned coffee shop accused of refusing service to Jewish customers last year is now being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice.
In court documents, the justice department claims Jerusalem Coffee House owner Abdulrahim Harara violated Title II of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against two Jewish customers based on their religion.
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WATCH HERE"This is illegal and we hope it stops," said Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the justice department's civil rights division. "Every American should feel free to go into any coffee shop, give their money and get a cup of coffee. That's just the American way."
Once incident was caught on camera by customer Jonathan Hirsch. At the time it happened, Hirsch told NBC Bay Area he was told to leave the café after purchasing a coffee because he was wearing a hat with the Star of David on it.
"In this case it is a Jewish patron, but this kind of conduct is illegal whether it's someone of any faith in the United States," Dhillon said. "So, this is not singling out any particular viewpoint."
Glenn Katon, a lawyer representing Harar, accuses Hirsch of being a known political agitator and claims Hirsch was harassing customers.
"These very much appeared to be staged incidents and the one guy who had the Star of David hat, there has been news coverage -- and there’s many videos at there of him creating disturbances," Katon said.
In a second incident, the coffee house in accused of refusing service to a customer wearing a hat that read "The people of Israel live" and running him out of the shop.
Katon claims there was a confrontation, but the customer was never denied service and shook hands with the owner before leaving. He also said his client opposes antisemitism.
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SIGN UP Katon believes the lawsuit is a political stunt by the Trump administration.
"This is very much in keep with the Trump administration's targeting of voices for Palestinian human rights," Katon said. "And as we have seen time again, people who speak out on Palestinian human rights gets labeled anti-Semitic."
The lawsuit also alleges on the one-year anniversary of the Hamas Oct. 7 attack, the coffee house announced new drinks that celebrated Hamas.
Katon denies all refusal of service claims and is looking to resolve the allegations.
