Oakland coffee shop throws out Jewish customer and calls his Star of David hat ‘violent’
A Jewish man from California was kicked out of a coffee shop for wearing a “violent” Star of David hat.
Jonathan Hirsch filmed being asked to leave the Jerusalem Coffee House in Oakland on Saturday.
The owner could be seen calling Hirsch’s headgear a “violent hat” before ordering him to leave for causing a disturbance.
The cafe describes itself as “a truly welcoming place for our people of Palestine, Oakland, the Bay Area and beyond,” regularly hosting Gaza solidarity events.
“I wear this hat all the time,” Hirsch said KTVU. “I mean, I’ve had this hat for years. And it means a lot to me. It has meant a lot more this past year.”
Jonathan Hirsch was kicked out of an Oakland coffee shop for wearing a “violent” Star of David hat
He explained that he entered the building because his five-year-old son needed the bathroom and his wife wanted to buy coffee.
“I didn’t go looking for a fight,” Hirsch added. “But if someone comes to me fighting, I cannot teach my son that Jews are these meek people who flee and cower.”
The footage shows Hirsch in the middle of a confrontation with the owner, who repeatedly asks him to leave.
‘You are being asked to leave. You are causing disruption. This is a private company. You are asked to leave,” the owner says.
“This gentleman asked me to leave because of my hat,” Hirsch responds.
The owner then says, “This is a violent hat, and you need to leave” to a disbelieving Hirsch.
The owner then demands to know if the father is a Zionist, but he refuses to respond.
Things escalate when Hirsch invites the owner to call the police.
The owner of the Jerusalem Coffee House could be seen calling Hirsch’s headgear a “violent hat” before ordering him to leave for causing a disturbance
“The police will come and they will make it clear to him that what he is doing is wrong and that he is ignorant,” Hirsch is quoted as saying.
After the police arrive, the owner is seen taunting Hirsch even further by saying, “I love Jewish people” and giving him a kiss.
Police then asked Hirsch to leave, advising that he could be prosecuted for trespassing if he stays.
Hirsch is now considering legal action after several experts agreed the incident appeared to be an example of anti-Semitic discrimination.
“I’m interested in getting justice here, and if the city can’t fix this, I’m willing to pursue whatever avenues I have,” Hirsch said.
The owner declined to talk to KTVU, telling the station, “Talking to the media is like talking to the police.”
Police advised Hirsch to leave and warned he could be charged with trespassing if he stayed
The Jerusalem Coffee House is a Palestinian establishment that organizes solidarity events for Gaza
DailyMail.com has also contacted the cafe for comment.
The establishment previously courted controversy after it sold a drink called Iced in Tea Fada, named after ‘intifada’ or the Arabic word to describe the Palestinian uprising.