By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) – The Justice Department said on Monday it opened a probe into a small coffee shop chain in New York City which posted online that it would have turned away pro-Israel U.S. Representative Dan Goldman had it recognized him during a weekend visit.
“The Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation and will bring an enforcement action if warranted,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said on X.
“Federal law prohibits public accommodations such as coffee shops from discriminating against patrons based on their race, religion, or national origin,” she said.
Goldman, a Democrat, visited Poetica Coffee in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, outside his district, with his 7-year-old daughter on Sunday, The New York Times reported.
“We see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee,” Poetica Coffee said on Instagram.
Goldman said he went there so his daughter could use the restroom and that he bought a coffee to thank staff for allowing her to do so.
“We don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers or anyone in between,” Poetica Coffee said. “Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away.”
The coffee shop said it issued a refund. “Don’t ever come to Poetica,” it added.
Its post was no longer visible on Monday. The Instagram account seems to have been deactivated.
Goldman is endorsed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul and is facing off in a June 23 primary against Brad Lander, the former New York City comptroller backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Both Lander and Goldman are Jewish.
Israel’s more than two-year-long assault on Gaza – which has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis and internally displaced Gaza’s entire population – has been called a genocide by multiple rights experts, scholars and a United Nations inquiry.
Israel describes its actions as self-defense following an October 2023 Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 people and in which over 250 were taken hostage.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
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