(KRON) — A man appears to have been asked to leave a Palestinian-owned coffeehouse in Oakland last year for wearing a Star of David hat has filed a lawsuit against the cafe owner. In an incident that was partially caught on video, Jonathan Hirsch and his son were asked to leave Jerusalem Coffee House on Telegraph Avenue.
The incident occurred on Oct. 26 last year. Hirsch, according to the lawsuit, went to the coffeehouse so his son could use the restroom and ordered a latte for himself. In the video, as Hirsch and his son sat playing chess, the owner of the coffee shop, identified in the suit as Abdulrahim Harara, angrily tells Hirsch he needs to leave.
At one point in the video, Harara can be heard telling Hirsch he is wearing a “violent hat.”
“This man cannot ask me to leave because of my hat,” Hirsch replies.
“Yeah, I can, it’s my business,” the Harara responds.
The owner goes on to ask Hirsch if he’s a “Zionist” and threatens to call the police. Hirsh continues to refuse to leave and threatens the owner with a lawsuit.
Eventually, police arrive and ask Hirsh to step outside. Harara, speaking into Hirsch’s camera says, “he loves Jewish people” before cursing Israel and “Zionists.”
The incident was amplified by the Jewish Community Relations Council as an incident of anti-Semitism. Several local officials, including Rep. Ro Khanna, former Rep. Barbara Lee and Supervisor Matt Dorsey condemned the incident.
On Monday, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law announced it had filed a suit against the coffeehouse owner on behalf of Hirsch and his son. According to the lawsuit, which was filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, Alameda County, the “defendants’ denial of service violates California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, among other laws.”
“The anti-Semitism that Mr. Hirsch and his son experienced is utterly shocking, as was the defendants’ ignorance of basic morality and the law,” said Brandeis Center Senior Counsel Omer Wiczyk, who is representing Hirsch. “We look forward to educating the defendants — and anyone that shares their distorted views — in a court of law.”
The incident at the cafe, however, was apparently not the first time Hirsch has come into conflict in an incident that was caught on camera. According to a report in the San Francisco Standard, there were at least three other incidents in the year leading up to the coffeehouse incident when Hirsh engaged with loud public arguments with strangers, including at least one involving issues related to Israel and Palestine.
(KRON) — A man appears to have been asked to leave a Palestinian-owned coffeehouse in Oakland last year for wearing a Star of David hat has filed a lawsuit against the cafe owner. In an incident that was partially caught on video, Jonathan Hirsch and his son were asked to leave Jerusalem Coffee House on […]
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