The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against Jerusalem Coffee House in Oakland, California, and its owner, alleging that the shop had discriminated against Jewish customers, the agency said in a June 9 statement.

“It is illegal, intolerable, and reprehensible for any American business open to the public to refuse to serve Jewish customers,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“Through our vigorous enforcement of Title II of the Civil Rights Act and other laws prohibiting race and religious discrimination, the Justice Department is committed to combating anti-Semitism and discrimination and protecting the civil rights of all Americans.”

Title II prohibits discrimination based on religion, race, national origin, or color in places of public accommodation.

The June 9 lawsuit, filed at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, cited two instances of the coffee house discriminating against Jews.

The first incident involved Michael Radice of Los Angeles, who entered the shop on June 10, 2024, wearing a baseball cap depicting the Star of David and a Hebrew phrase—“The people of Israel live.”

After being allegedly harassed by an employee at the shop for being Jewish, Radice left the place.

Radice visited the shop once more on Aug. 3, this time without any baseball cap or other material that would indicate he was Jewish, according to the lawsuit. However, the employee identified Radice.

“You’re the guy with the hat. You’re the Jew. You’re the Zionist. We don’t want you in our coffee shop,” the employee allegedly said.

Radice left the place and was followed by the employee, another worker, and owner Fathi Abdulrahim Harara, who were yelling “Zionist” and “Jew,” according to the complaint.

The second incident involved Jonathan Hirsch and his 5-year-old son. When they visited the shop on Oct. 26, 2024, Hirsch was wearing a baseball cap with a Star of David. Harara allegedly told both of them to leave the premises, the DOJ said in the lawsuit.

Hirsch refused to leave. Police arrived at the scene and identified the incident as a hate crime in their report, according to the lawsuit. While Hirsch stepped outside together with the officers, Harara allegedly used profanities against him.

A Jewish media outlet had shared the alleged clip of the incident on Instagram on Oct. 31, 2024.

The lawsuit also details the coffee house announcing two new drinks on the first anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

One of the drinks was “Iced In Tea Fada,” referring to the Intifada, the suit states. Intifada refers to an armed uprising of Palestinians against Israel. The second drink, “Sweet Sinwar,” references Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, according to the lawsuit. Sinwar is described as masterminding the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Leo Terrell, senior counsel to Dhillon at the DOJ, said in a June 10 post on the social media platform X that anti-Semitic discrimination “isn’t activism. It’s illegal.”

“Refuse to serve Jews coffee? Prepare to face the U.S. Department of Justice!” he wrote.

Terrell heads the Trump administration’s multiagency task force to counter anti-Semitism in educational institutions.

Harara’s attorney Glenn Katon told The Epoch Times via email that he believes that the Trump administration is silencing Palestinian human rights activists.

“Mr. Harara abhors anti-Semitism, and we look forward to exposing this case for what it really is: a political stunt to intimidate people who oppose Israel’s genocide and our government’s support of it,” Katon wrote.

Crackdown on Anti-Semitism

Hirsch’s attorney, Omer Wiczyk, said to The Epoch Times that they were pleased about the DOJ’s decision to file a lawsuit against the coffee shop and its owner for “repeated acts of anti-Semitism.”

“The anti-Semitic behavior that Jonathan Hirsch and his son experienced at the Jerusalem Coffee House was abhorrent, racist, a violation of fundamental understandings of equality, and flat-out illegal,” he said.

“The Civil Rights Division was created specifically to protect the civil and constitutional rights of all people in the U.S.—including Jewish fathers and their children—sadly protection Jews need more than ever in our history in this country. We will continue to pursue our lawsuit before the Superior Court of California as well.”

In addition to the DOJ lawsuit, the coffee shop is facing another discrimination complaint.

In February, the Jewish activist group the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) filed a federal lawsuit against shop operators on behalf of Radice, alleging a violation of civil rights, the organization said in a Feb. 27 statement.

This was the first case the group filed to stop discriminatory business practices by establishments that refuse to serve Jewish customers.

“No one should have to hide who they are to order a cup of coffee, but at Jerusalem Coffee House, antisemitism was literally on the menu,” said Marc Levine, regional director for ADL Central Pacific.

“Bigotry against Jews is on the rise, but we will not be turned away—this behavior cannot be tolerated anywhere.”

The DOJ’s lawsuit is part of the Trump administration’s wider crackdown on anti-Semitism in the United States.

On Jan. 29, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to combat anti-Semitism, especially on university and college campuses.

In recent weeks, the administration has cracked down on Harvard for failing to address anti-Semitism on campus and other issues threatening national interests.

Washington has cut federal funds to Harvard. Trump recently signed a proclamation suspending international visas for new students at the university.