NEW YORK — A cafe in New York City said Sunday it has barred US Rep. Dan Goldman as it does not serve “genocide enablers,” after the Jewish lawmaker stopped at the coffee shop.
Poetica Coffee posted a photo of Goldman on social media, writing: “We see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee. Do you see how it doesn’t taste like genocide juice?”
“We don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers,” the post said. “Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away.”
The shop said it refunded Goldman’s $9.82 purchase.
“We don’t need your money (it’s probably coming from AIPAC anyways),” the post said, referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a major pro-Israel lobbying group. “Don’t ever come to Poetica.”
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In a statement, Goldman said he was “sorry to see this post” and explained that he had stopped at the coffee shop because his young daughter needed to use a restroom.
“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,” he said. “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.”
The US Department of Justice said on Monday it opened a probe into the incident.
“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 is a Jewish centrist who supports Israel’s existence, but has also been critical of the Israeli government and the war in Gaza, which was triggered by the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel. Critics have accused Israel of genocide in its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, an accusation that Jerusalem vehemently denies.
Last year, Goldman said the war was a “humanitarian catastrophe” and called the Netanyahu coalition an “extremist government” that “unjustly hurts Palestinians.”
Goldman is facing a primary challenge from former New York City comptroller Brad Lander in Tuesday’s election.
Lander is also Jewish, and defines himself as a “liberal Zionist,” but is running to Goldman’s left when it comes to Israel.
Goldman represents New York’s 10th Congressional District, covering lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.
Goldman has been endorsed by AIPAC and J Street, a left-wing Israel lobby group. A spokeswoman for Goldman said he has not taken any donations from AIPAC in the current election period, but does take donations from individuals via the AIPAC website.
Poetica is a chain with six locations around the city. It was not clear which location Goldman had been to.
The chain’s website said that “whoever walks through the door is treated with unconditional dignity.”
“Not as a customer. Not as a transaction. As someone who arrived and deserves to be welcomed,” the website says.
The owner of the chain, Parvis Mukhamadkulov, told The Times of Israel on Monday that he had received death threats and threats against his family, was in contact with the NYPD, and “would like to focus on the safety of my family at this time.”
The coffee shop was also flooded with negative reviews online. It deactivated its Instagram account Monday.
Before the incident with Goldman, the chain had a history of anti-Israel activism.
In January, the coffee shop’s Instagram account posted a photo of two Israeli officers with a Palestinian detainee and the caption, “Fuck Israel.”
Other posts showed a Palestinian flag in one of the branch’s locations and the company has posted genocide accusations against Israel.
The chain closed early during a protest in November 2023 as part of a “symbolic shutdown” against Israel and has posted images of Palestinian casualties on its social media.
Mukhamadkulov has railed against Israel online, including immediately after the October 2023 Hamas invasion of southern Israel, when he condemned political leaders who expressed sympathy toward Israelis.
In other posts on X, he called for a ceasefire in Gaza and condemned Hamas, while equating Israel and the terrorist group.
He has repeatedly accused Israel of “genocide” and “killing babies.”
Mamdani doubles down on AIPAC ‘monsters’ charge
The incident came as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, an anti-Zionist, defended calling AIPAC “monsters” in comments that were decried as trafficking in antisemitic tropes by leading Jewish organizations.
“We’re talking about a status quo where children are being killed on a daily basis,” Mamdani said Monday during a press event, mentioning the killing of Al Jazeera cameraman Ahmed Washah on Saturday.
The Israel Defense Forces said Washah was a Hamas operative. Purported journalists in Gaza have repeatedly been found to have been members of terrorist groups.
“When I am speaking about AIPAC, I’m speaking about an organization that has been supportive of the status quo, that has fought any attempt to actually deliver safety to people, not just in Palestine, but frankly, through much of the region,” Mamdani said. “It is a status quo for immorality. It is one that I will not accept.”
“It is important that when we ask ourselves how such death and destruction is happening overseas, we also name those who allow it to take place,” he added.
During a rally on Thursday, Mamdani said that “the monsters that we are up against, they take many different forms,” and then singled out AIPAC.
He described the pro-Israel lobby as an organization “for whom the only thing more frightening than democracy being allowed to run its course is an end to genocide and [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s wars.”
Mamdani continued by alleging that AIPAC moves “millions in dark money to accomplish a single goal, to preserve their power so that they can turn us against one another instead of our leaders turning towards the moral change we all know to be necessary.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani smiles during an address marking his first 100 days in office, in New York City, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
Jewish leaders and Jewish organizations said the comment crossed a line.
The head of the American Jewish Committee, Ted Deutch, said in a statement addressed to Mamdani: “When you call people monsters, you’re not debating ideas, you’re dehumanizing the people you disagree with.”
Agencies contributed to this report.