NYC Cafe Faces Scrutiny After Refunding Rep. Goldman Over Pro-Israel Views
But Poetica claims that “the guest is sacred, the books are unbanned, and the door is open to everyone.”
Poetica Coffee in Brooklyn came under fire after its disgusting post about Jewish pro-Israel Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) went viral.
The move comes a month after the Park Slope Food Co-op voted to boycott products from Israel.
Goldman purchased a coffee after the barista allowed his young daughter to use the restroom.
The coffee shop, which claims everyone is welcome, blasted Goldman in a now-deleted Facebook post that played “F*ck You* by Lily Allen with a picture of a refund:
“Hey Congressman Dan Goldman, we see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee. Do you see how it doesn’t taste like genocide juice? Or are you still having a hard time telling the difference?” the post stated, seemingly referring to Goldman’s support for Israel and accusations that the nation has committed genocide against Palestinians during the war in Gaza.
“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. Don’t ever come to Poetica.”
There it is!! AIPAC. The ultimate boogeyman to the radical left.
Goldman gave a classy and graceful response:
I’m sorry to see this 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.
Truly wild stuff from a local NYC coffee shop — the city has become a very broken place
Can't help but also notice Dan Goldman's thoroughly dignified response
Also wondering @TheLeoTerrell @HarmeetKDhillon if this legal pic.twitter.com/qfyLX7P6Bt
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) June 22, 2026
Let’s wander over to Poetica’s website, shall we?
Oh! Would you look at that!
Poetica claims that “the guest is sacred, the books are unbanned, and the door is open to everyone.”
More:
A mahalla is a neighborhood. But in Uzbek tradition, it carries obligations. When a guest arrives, the entire neighborhood organizes. Tea and bread before questions. A seat before an invitation. The guest is sacred because the act of welcoming is how a community keeps itself intact.
Parviz brought that logic to Brooklyn. 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.
You know, unless you support Israel. It doesn’t help, Poetica, that you lashed out at a Jewish person, too.
Goldman faces a tough primary to hold his House seat. However, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, his opponent, defended Goldman:
Goldman and his opponent in Tuesday’s primary election, former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, have taken different positions on issues related to Israel. In this case, Lander sided with Goldman.
“There are plenty of ways to lobby elected officials and express outrage at the votes they’ve taken without turning coffee shops into places people don’t feel welcome,” Lander wrote in a statement. “I’m glad Poetica took down their post, and I thought Rep. Goldman’s reply was extremely gracious.”
I’m a free speech purist. Let the market decide because I sure as hell won’t visit a place that pulls this stunt. Just don’t be shocked when your actions have consequences.
But America has laws against discrimination. Yes, believe it or not, those laws also protect Jews and people who support Israel.
Shocking, right?
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon confirmed her division opened an investigation into the incident:
The @CivilRights is aware of the denial of service taunts to @danielsgoldman by Poetica Coffee in Brooklyn.
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. The Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation, and will bring an enforcement action if warranted.
If you have been denied service at a public accommodation on the basis of a protected characteristic, we at @TheJusticeDept want to know!
The @CivilRights is aware of the denial of service taunts to @danielsgoldman by Poetica Coffee in Brooklyn.
Federal law prohibits public accommodations such as coffee shops from discriminating against patrons based on their race, religion, or national origin. These actions are… https://t.co/reOawYeEzU
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) June 22, 2026
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Comments
No, it isn’t really illegal. Because 1) they didn’t fail to serve him, and 2) their a**holery wasn’t based on his religion, but his politics.
He had an excellent response.
This is a case where public shaming should be doing the work that demand the law do. Of course, if the “public” agrees with the shop, then it isn’t going to work.
He did
Sorry to break it to you, but yes, the public agrees with the shop. I was there this morning at a protest against Poetica and there appeared to be lots of patrons inside enjoying their overpriced lattes and some wearing fashionable kaffiyehs. The public shaming will occur, only it will continue to be directed at the Jews who support Israel.
Hate has no home here, you babykilling m***f****r.
“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.
__________________________________________
rather self-explanatory
And they can’t even see how untrue that statement is.
They serve all sorts of those people and a lot of in-between, every single day. Heck, those people work there and some are evidently in management.
1. They didn’t actually deny him service, they merely said that they would have had they known who he was. In actual practice, far from denying him service they gave him a free coffee! So they haven’t broken the law.
2. Denying someone service because they’re black is racial discrimination and illegal. Denying someone service because they’re a civil rights activist is political discrimination, and legal federally and in most states. So what happens when you deny service to a civil rights activist who is black? Are you doing it because of his race or because of his opinions on racial matters? It’s a close question, but the bottom line is, had this person been white would you still have denied service? If so, then it’s not racial.
My question is, since their note to him called him all sorts of nasty and untrue names, why can’t he sue for that reason? I certainly would consider it as defamatory if I were in his shoes.
Even if he were a private person, there’s nothing in the letter that would be actionable. Calling someone names is not defamation. And a name can’t be true or untrue; by definition it’s an opinion, not a statement of fact.
They called him a racist, a fascist, a homophobe, and a genocide enabler. The first three are out-and-out opinions. They’re not capable of being true or untrue. The last one depends on the opinion that what Israel is doing constitutes “genocide”; it’s perfectly true that Goldman voted to enable it, so the only question is how you define “genocide”, which is a matter of opinion.
The horror in this is that he paid $9.82 for a coffee!
Let’s not lose sight of the fact that Goldman is a putz. Yes he gave a gracious response for once. My thought is that it was to a progressive cafe instead of a MAGA one. Doesn’t matter, He’s still a putz and I hope he loses his election.
As for the cafe I hope they reap the whirlwind themselves. They deserve to crash and burn for their ignorance and stupidity. Their coffee likely sucks and is definitely overpriced.
Yes, he is. And now I have to hold my nose and go vote for him, because compared to Brad Lander he’s a paragon of virtue. Then I will need a shower.
Out of curiosity have you been to the coffee shop before, They have something like 7 of them.
No, I have never been there, and now that I know this about them I never will.
Sigh. I hate being in that situation
“Sure he’s an asshole, but ultimately he’s the better choice.”
“Uzbeks.
They are the weak link in the great chain of socialism.”
Inferior potassium as well.
To stay consistent all private businesses should be able to refuse business to anyone.
This is correct. The “public accommodation” crap was always a power grab to let them tell you what you can do with your own property.
And just to be clear, I don’t think you should discriminate in your public or personal interactions on the basis of race or ethnicity. But you must be allowed to if we’re going to actually proclaim these freedoms as true. Yet another way that to have freedom you must first have responsibility, not the other way around.
Yeah. I tend to agree, especially in 2026. It ain’t 1965 and I doubt many business would implement discriminatory policies. Pretty much any business in the USA would soon go broke if they routinely made a practice of refusing to serve folks based on ‘protected class’. I’d be in favor of maintaining the prohibition where there wasn’t any consumer choice; ‘last chance’ gas/restaurant/hotel in the middle of nowhere or for a monopoly. Aside from those? Let the market decide.
That should be the law, and in general it is, but with some major exceptions. A business that qualifies as a public accommodation may refuse business on any grounds except those specified by law, such as race, religion, sex, disability, national origin, age over 40, and whatever other criteria state and local law add to these.
The vile, stupid and evil nazi/communist/Islamofascist/Muslim supremacist pukes, subversives, fifth columnists, Jew-haters and Christian-haters now feel completely brazen and unabashed, in spewing their Jew-hate.
The Dhimmi-crat criminal organization has given the green light to its apparatchiks and supporters, to flippantly traffic in rabid, goose-stepping Jew-hate and anti-Israel slanders and venom.
Apparently, the lone exception to the Uzbek “hospitality” rule, is when an Israel-supporting Jew is the customer.
North of $9 for coffee! And people go into convulsions when a gallon of gasoline exceeds $5. People’s spending priorities need adjustment.
I’m curious what a genocidal enabled actually is. Put aside for the moment that there is no genocide. I’m a Jew and a Zionist. How could I possibly be a genocide enabler. I live in the US in deep blue state. I’m not in government and I don’t work. I’m sure this cafe and others would label me an enabler but how exactly am I one? How exactly is a teacher or a college or a state government an enabler? etc….
Here’s what they would say; “Free Palestine, Free Palestine, Free Palestine, Free…” you get my point. They don’t have to have any knowledge, just be loud and repeat and repeat and repeat. No logic required. In fact, logic is firmly discouraged.
Goldman, though, did vote to enable the so-called “genocide”, as indeed he should have because it’s right and just.
Probably legal. Maybe if they could show that the cafe did not ban an Israel-supporting gentile. But as we know, the process is the punishement.
We have free speech absolutists pontificating that it should be perfectly legal for a business to discriminate against anyone for any reason. However, that ship has sailed a long time ago. Federal law states that it is illegal for a firm engaged in public accommodations to discriminate against minorities including blacks, gays, Muslims, and Jews. Moreso, when it comes to antidiscrimination laws, New York City antidiscrimination law goes much further than federal antidiscrimination law. In practice, it is only Jews that can be vilified and demonized. If any business were accused of anti-black, anti-gay, or anti-Muslim discrimination (or even just be rude to them), the city human rights commission would come down on them like a ton of bricks.
Anyone can be vilified and demonized. No government entity, including even the city’s notorious human rights commission, can come down on anyone merely for vilifying and demonizing someone.
What’s illegal is for them to refuse someone service on grounds that are specifically prohibited by law. Being Jewish is such a ground; but supporting Israel is not. If they deny service to a Jew who supports Israel (which is any normal Jew) but knowingly do serve a gentile who supports Israel just as strongly, then that would be illegal. But if they deny it to anyone who supports Israel, regardless of race, then I don’t see a case. And of course in this case there was no denial of service, so there’s no possibility of a case.
Your reading comprehension is faulty. My comment of being vilified and demonized was clearly in the context of being denied service. And if that happened to black or gay the New York City human rights commission would take action.
Neither “vilified” nor “demonized” has anything to do with being denied service. And since no one was denied service here, there is no question of any legal action.
Exactly the same thing would happen if some place posted that they regret having served Al Sharpton, because they oppose his black supremacist policies; they have every right to say that. They also have the right to actually deny him service so long as it’s on the basis of his racial politics, not on the basis of his actual race.
Bruh, you gotta shed that provincial outlook. Plain vanilla ‘white’ males have been the societal punching bag for decades. I have personally experienced active discrimination and I am far from alone in that. Nearly every movie adaptation of a book changes the ‘villain’ to a white male. Culturally the ‘straight, while, male’ is the preferred cultural target for blame; patriarchy, toxic masculinity. That is especially so for those from rural areas; bitter clingers, gun nuts, and so on. The SPLC ran a multimillion dollar grift on this crap, Hollywood made all sorts of movies/TV shows, academics wrote papers and textbooks all reinforcing this goofy idea.
Finger went to thumbs up. Thumbs down registered. System cries for improvement. Apologies.
If I had a coffee shop I might deny Dan Goldman service too, because he’s a particularly vile example of a Democrat POS. But I just got home from voting for him, because Brad Lander is much worse.
And of course Lander won, by about a 2-1 margin.
🤢🤮
I always enjoy sitting back and watching the leftists destroy themselves…their politics and the positions they hold are always based on lies and misinformation…their ideology is cult-like and a failure.
The congressman’s gracious and dignified response is the classic passive response of the Jew who doesn’t want to make waves. His response is more likely to encourage than discourage this kind of behavior. He is a wimp.
Agreed
Let’s be clear. Being gracious and. dignified won’t win you votes. Calling Jews and Zionists “Monsters.” definitely will help your cause.
I personally like to put AIPAC dark blood money in my coffee every morning. It goes well with chicory and the absic humanitarian aid denied to Columbia uni students. So maybe I should visit this Poetica shop everyday and order a coffee, then mention I’m zionist and have my money refunded? I could get endless free coffees is my guess before they these morons got wise to the strategy. In fact maybe lots of NY Jews should try that out, it could be like a reverse boycott where we demand free refunds due to our Zio Monster ways!!!!