Rep. Dan Goldman, a Democrat from New York, was banned from a Brooklyn coffee shop due to his views on Israel. The coffee shop, Poetica Coffee, posted a photo of Goldman and a receipt of a refund on its social media account, stating that they did not want his money, which they claimed was probably coming from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Goldman’s Response

Goldman addressed the incident on CNN, calling it ‘sad’ and stating that he had a nice interaction with the barista, who allowed his daughter to use the bathroom. He also mentioned that he gave the barista a large tip. Goldman accused his primary challenger, Brad Lander, of using AIPAC as a ‘dog whistle’ and said that he would not cave into that type of rhetoric.

Lander has referred to Israel’s offensive in Gaza as a ‘genocide’, a claim that the Israeli government denies. Goldman has been backed by AIPAC in the past, which has been a point of contention in the primary election. Lander issued a statement denouncing the coffee shop’s post, saying that there are better ways to express outrage at an elected official’s votes.

The Justice Department’s civil rights chief, Harmeet Dhillon, announced that her division had opened an investigation into the coffee shop. Goldman responded, saying that he would rather they focus on investigating antisemitism against people who do not have a platform like he does.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.