A New York City coffee shop is facing a furious backlash online after announcing that a Democratic congressman was not welcome over his pro-Israel stance.
Poetica Coffee shared a photo of Rep. Dan Goldman, in one of its Brooklyn branches, in a Facebook post on Sunday. Alongside the picture, was another showing it had refunded him for his $9.82 purchase because, it said, it didn’t want or need the business from “genocide enablers.”
“Hey Congressman Dan Goldman, we see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee,” the shop said in the post. “Do you see how it doesn’t taste like genocide juice? Or are you still having a hard time telling the difference? 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, the post continued, referring to the Democratic primary where Goldman faces former City Comptroller and Israel critic Brad Lander. “Don’t ever come to Poetica.”
New York’s 10th Congressional District candidate Dan Goldman speaks during an environmental policy forum presented by The New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund and The Cooper Union., Tuesday, July 19, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Poetica Coffee, Lorimer Street, Brooklyn NYC.
Source: Google Maps
Newsweek has reached out to Lander’s campaign for comment.
The post, which has been condemned by local Jewish leaders, has sparked a review bombing campaign online.
Poetica Coffee previously had mostly five star reviews praising the cafe for its friendly service and quality coffee. But since Monday, as reports of the post begin to spread, there has been a wave of negative, one star reviews.
Yelp has even temporarily paused all reviews for the business as it investigates whether they are from genuine customers.
In a statement, Yelp said, “This business recently received increased public attention resulting in an influx of people posting their views to this page, so we have temporarily disabled the ability to post here as we work to investigate the content. While activity or content supporting racism, discrimination, or bigotry have no place on Yelp and we unequivocally reject them in any form, all reviews on Yelp must reflect an actual first-hand consumer experience (even if that means disabling the ability for users to express points of view we might agree with).”
Poetica Coffee also shared purported death threat messages it said it had received on its Instagram page. That account has since been deactivated, although it’s unclear whether that decision was made by Instagram or Poetica Coffee.
Rep. Goldman, who has often described himself as “unabashedly pro-Israel”, confirmed in a comment that he had seen Poetica Coffee’s post.
“I am sorry to see this post,” Goldman said Monday in a comment on the Facebook post. “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.”
When Newsweek reached out to Goldman for further comment, his staff simply directed us to his Facebook post.
Meanwhile, New York Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, condemned the post in a statement on Monday to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
“Assigning collective blame to Jews or perceived supporters of Israel over disagreements with Middle East policies is the very definition of antisemitism,” he said. “It is shameful and hateful, and businesses open to the public do not get to discriminate based on religion, ancestry, ethnicity, or stereotypes.”
What Happens Next
Donald Trump’s Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced on Monday that it is launching an investigation into Poetica Coffee “and will bring an enforcement action if warranted.”
Newsweek has reached out to Poetica Coffee for comment via social media. An unidentified staff member told the New York Post in store that they had, “No comment. We stand against genocide.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech.
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