Hospitality for everyone \u2014 except supporters of Israel.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t serve \u201cgenocide enablers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Poetica Coffee revealed the unasked-for $9.82 refund in a bitter Facebook post Sunday, with a pic of a hapless Goldman \u2013 who faces a tough Democratic primary challenge from former city Comptroller Brad Lander \u2013 in the Williamsburg shop.<\/p>\n
Poetica Coffee revealed the unasked-for $9.82 refund in a bitter Facebook post Sunday, with a pic of a hapless Goldman in the Williamsburg shop. Poetica Coffee\/facebook<\/p>\n
\u201cHey Congressman Dan Goldman, we see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee. Do you see how it doesn\u2019t taste like genocide juice? Or are you still having a hard time telling the difference?\u201d the post stated, seemingly referring to Goldman\u2019s support for Israel and accusations that the nation has committed genocide against Palestinians during the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee, here at Poetica, we don\u2019t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between. Too bad we didn\u2019t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away. We issued you a refund\u2014we don\u2019t need your money (it\u2019s probably coming from AIPAC anyways). Enjoy your loss on Tuesday. Don\u2019t ever come to Poetica.\u201d<\/p>\n
The post quickly drew condemnation from many Jewish New Yorkers, with one prominent advocate arguing that Poetica\u2019s effective ban of Goldman \u201cabsolutely violates New York\u2019s human rights laws that bar discrimination.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAssigning collective blame to Jews or perceived supporters of Israel over disagreements with Middle East policies is the very definition of antisemitism,\u201d said Mark Treyger, the CEO for the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe nature of the social media post leaves serious questions about the business\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
State Attorney General Letitia James\u2019 office, as well as Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s office and the city\u2019s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection didn\u2019t immediately respond for comment on the potential violation of New York\u2019s human rights laws.<\/p>\n
Other advocates and a handful of Poetica customers noted it brazenly contradicted the chain\u2019s avowed ethos of treating people with \u201cunconditional dignity\u201d \u2014 as outlined in a mission statement on its website under the name of the owner, Parviz Mukhamadkulov.<\/p>\n
Poetica Coffee is located at 561 Lorimer St. in Brooklyn. Gregory P. Mango for NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guest is sacred because the act of welcoming is how a community keeps itself intact,\u201d the welcoming statement reads.<\/p>\n
The shop also claims on its site that \u201cwhoever walks through the door is treated with unconditional dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot as a customer. Not as a transaction. As someone who arrived and deserves to be welcomed,\u201d the site claims.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The shop also claims on its site that \u201cwhoever walks through the door is treated with unconditional dignity.\u201d Gregory P. Mango for NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing poetic in Poetica\u2019s flippant use of \u2018AIPAC\u2019 as a slur against a Jewish public official, which like \u2018Zionist\u2019 or its more noxious shorthand, \u2018Zio,\u2019 is nothing more than a coded dog-whistle for \u2018Jew,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPoetica may claim to be a place \u2018where the guest is sacred, the books are unbanned, and the door is open to everyone,\u2019 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\u2019t just lay down and die.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coffeeshop customer Spencer W., 25, declined to comment on the post\u2019s politics, but didn\u2019t appreciate the attack on patrons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t love the idea of attacking your customers on social media,\u201d the customer said.<\/p>\n
Ben Samson, a Jewish customer, said the post wouldn\u2019t hinder him from coming to the shop.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf someone gave me a problem, I would ask what their f\u2013king deal is,\u201d he said. \u201cI think people are living on their f\u2013king phones.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t 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\u2019t, then that\u2019s their problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staff at the coffee shop on Monday declined to comment. \u201cNo comment. We stand against genocide,\u201d a staffer said.<\/p>\n
Gregory P. Mango for NY Post<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am sorry to see this post,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cThe barista could not have been nicer to my 7-year-old daughter and me \u2014 allowing her to use the bathroom even though we had not purchased anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staff at the coffee shop on Monday declined to comment.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo comment. We stand against genocide,\u201d a staffer said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hospitality for everyone \u2014 except supporters of Israel. A crunchy coffee shop flamed pro-Israel Rep. Dan Goldman for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172640,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[2492,30703,17441,37,8981,933],"class_list":["post-172639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-antisemitism","tag-brooklyn","tag-coffee-shops","tag-israel","tag-metro","tag-us-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116795662815649723","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}