Hospitality for everyone — except supporters of Israel.
A crunchy coffee shop flamed pro-Israel Rep. Dan Goldman for buying a cup of java at its Brooklyn location and issued him a refund, declaring it doesn’t serve “genocide enablers.”
Poetica Coffee revealed the unasked-for $9.82 refund in a bitter Facebook post Sunday, with a pic of a hapless Goldman – who faces a tough Democratic primary challenge from former city Comptroller Brad Lander – in the Williamsburg shop.
“Hey Congressman Dan Goldman, we see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee. Do you see how it doesn’t taste like genocide juice? Or are you still having a hard time telling the difference?” the post stated, seemingly referring to Goldman’s support for Israel and accusations that the nation has committed genocide against Palestinians during the war in Gaza.
“See, here at Poetica, we don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between. Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away. We issued you a refund—we don’t need your money (it’s probably coming from AIPAC anyways). Enjoy your loss on Tuesday. Don’t ever come to Poetica.”
The post quickly drew condemnation from many Jewish New Yorkers, with one prominent advocate arguing that Poetica’s effective ban of Goldman “absolutely violates New York’s human rights laws that bar discrimination.”
“Assigning collective blame to Jews or perceived supporters of Israel over disagreements with Middle East policies is the very definition of antisemitism,” said Mark Treyger, the CEO for the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.
“The nature of the social media post leaves serious questions about the business’s practices that warrant a thorough review under City and State human rights law. Turning a cup of coffee into a Jewish identity litmus test is an affront to the law, our values, and every New Yorker who rejects discrimination.”
State Attorney General Letitia James’ office, as well as Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office and the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection didn’t immediately respond for comment on the potential violation of New York’s human rights laws.
Other advocates and a handful of Poetica customers noted it brazenly contradicted the chain’s avowed ethos of treating people with “unconditional dignity” — as outlined in a mission statement on its website under the name of the owner, Parviz Mukhamadkulov.
“The guest is sacred because the act of welcoming is how a community keeps itself intact,” the welcoming statement reads.
The shop also claims on its site that “whoever walks through the door is treated with unconditional dignity.”
“Not as a customer. Not as a transaction. As someone who arrived and deserves to be welcomed,” the site claims.
Rory Lancman, a Jewish civil rights lawyer and former Queens councilman, zeroed in on the post, which conspiratorially referenced the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
“There’s nothing poetic in Poetica’s flippant use of ‘AIPAC’ as a slur against a Jewish public official, which like ‘Zionist’ or its more noxious shorthand, ‘Zio,’ is nothing more than a coded dog-whistle for ‘Jew,’” he said.
“Poetica may claim to be a place ‘where the guest is sacred, the books are unbanned, and the door is open to everyone,’ but clearly its guests are merely prey for public abuse, its thirst for banning those with opposing opinions is unslakable, and its doors are closed to Jews who think that the Jewish state shouldn’t just lay down and die.”
Coffeeshop customer Spencer W., 25, declined to comment on the post’s politics, but didn’t appreciate the attack on patrons.
“I don’t love the idea of attacking your customers on social media,” the customer said.
Ben Samson, a Jewish customer, said the post wouldn’t hinder him from coming to the shop.
“If someone gave me a problem, I would ask what their f–king deal is,” he said. “I think people are living on their f–king phones.”
“I don’t like when people pose their view on how to treat people onto me. I hope they can give me the same grace, and if they can’t, then that’s their problem.”
Goldman responded to the petty diss by pointing out he bought a coffee out of courtesy for the shop allowing his young daughter to use the restroom.
“I am sorry to see this post,” he said in a statement. “The barista could not have been nicer to my 7-year-old daughter and me — allowing her to use the bathroom even though we had not purchased anything.
“I made sure to buy a coffee in return for her kindness. I hope you at least make sure she gets the tip that she deserved.”
Staff at the coffee shop on Monday declined to comment.
“No comment. We stand against genocide,” a staffer said.
https://nypost.com/2026/06/22/us-news/nyc-coffee-shop-bans-pro-israel-politician-in-nasty-post-despite-promise-to-treat-all-customers-with-unconditional-dignity/
No comments:
Post a Comment