Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) said Monday it was “sad” that a Brooklyn coffee shop banned him over his pro-Israel views, a move that prompted the Justice Department to launch a civil rights investigation into the cafe.
Goldman, who represents New York’s 10th Congressional District, made the comment to CNN after Poetica Coffee in Brooklyn posted a since-deleted Instagram message criticizing him following a visit Sunday. The post, which the cafe later removed, accused Goldman of being a “genocide enabler” and refunded his coffee purchase, saying, “We don’t need your money (it’s probably coming from AIPAC anyways).”
The post also referenced Goldman’s upcoming Democratic primary election against former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, telling the congressman, “Enjoy your loss on Tuesday. Don’t ever come to Poetica.” Lander has been critical of Israel’s war in Gaza, calling it genocide and saying he would not accept funding from the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC.
Goldman described a positive encounter at the cafe with a barista he did not know. “I had such a nice interaction with the barista in the coffee shop. She was wearing a hijab, I didn’t know her, but she couldn’t have been nicer and allowed my daughter to go use the bathroom, and I honestly was so grateful for her kindness that I felt like I should buy a coffee, and so I did, and I gave her a large tip,” Goldman told CNN. “It was diametrically opposite to that post that I came upon later.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced on X that her office was investigating Poetica Coffee. “Federal law prohibits public accommodations such as coffee shops from discriminating against patrons based on their race, religion, or national origin. These actions are not only reprehensible, they’re potentially illegal,” Dhillon said. She added that the division “will bring an enforcement action if warranted.”
Goldman responded by saying he would prefer the Justice Department focus elsewhere. “I would rather they spend their time and resources investigating antisemitism against people who do not have a platform that I do, who are not elected officials, who do not – in some ways – ask for this,” he said. “I don’t ask for the antisemitism, but I’m a public figure and I can accept the criticism.”
Poetica Coffee’s website describes itself as a place “where the guest is sacred, the books are unbanned, and the door is open to everyone,” citing the Uzbek concept of “mehmon” — the sacred guest. “In practice, it looks like a café where the door doesn’t close on anyone, where tea gets poured before anyone asks who you are,” the website states.
Goldman, a Levi Strauss heir with a reported net worth of approximately $253 million, attended the Israel Day parade in New York City in May, which was also attended by Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Smotrich has described himself as a “proud homophobe” and has called for the destruction of Gaza and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian villages in the West Bank. Goldman said after the parade he was “proud” to have attended and to “celebrate the nation and state of Israel,” which he described as “distinct from its government.”
The primary election is scheduled for Tuesday.