WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) – The Justice \u2060Department \u2060said on Monday it opened \u2060a probe into a small coffee shop chain in New \u200bYork City which posted online that it would have turned away pro-Israel U.S. Representative Dan \u200cGoldman had it recognized him \u200cduring a weekend visit.<\/p>\n
“The Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation and will \u2060bring an \u2060enforcement action if warranted,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said on \u200bX.<\/p>\n
“Federal law prohibits public accommodations such as coffee shops from discriminating against patrons based on their race, religion, or national origin,” she said.<\/p>\n
Goldman, a Democrat, visited Poetica Coffee in Williamsburg, \u200bBrooklyn, outside his district, with his 7-year-old daughter on Sunday, The New York \u2060Times \u2060reported.<\/p>\n
“We see that you \u2060stopped by \u200bour shop today for a coffee,” Poetica Coffee said on Instagram.<\/p>\n
Goldman said he went \u200bthere so his daughter \u2060could use the restroom and that he bought a coffee to thank staff for allowing her to do so.<\/p>\n
“We don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers or anyone in between,” Poetica Coffee said. “Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or \u2060we would have turned you away.”<\/p>\n
The coffee shop said it issued a refund. “Don’t \u2060ever come to Poetica,” it added.<\/p>\n
Its post was no longer visible on Monday. The Instagram account seems to have been deactivated.<\/p>\n
Goldman is endorsed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul and is facing off in a June 23 primary against Brad Lander, the former New York City comptroller backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Both Lander and Goldman are Jewish.<\/p>\n
Israel’s more than two-year-long assault on Gaza – which has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger \u2060crisis and internally displaced Gaza’s entire population – has been called a genocide by multiple rights experts, scholars and a United Nations inquiry.<\/p>\n
Israel describes its actions as self-defense following an October 2023 Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 people \u200band in which over 250 were taken hostage.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Kanishka \u200bSingh in Washington; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)<\/p>\n
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