Rep. Dan Goldman known as it “sad” {that a} Brooklyn coffee shop apparently banned him with a viral social media publish amid a heated Democratic major election that has centered closely on the politics of the Israel-Gaza battle.
Speaking to NCS’s Laura Coates on Monday, Goldman addressed his expertise at Poetica Coffee, which used its branded social media account to publish a photograph Sunday of Goldman and a receipt of a refund, in line with screenshots of the shop’s posts that had been broadly shared Monday. Poetica Coffee has since taken down its Instagram web page.
“I had such a nice interaction with the barista in the coffee shop,” Goldman mentioned. “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.”
Rep. Goldman responds to NYC café banning him over his Israel stance
“It’s a reflection, I think, of a sad state of affairs that without knowing me, we could have had such a nice interaction,” Goldman continued.
The since-deleted publish from Poetica Coffee references AIPAC, saying to Goldman, “we don’t need your money (it’s probably coming from AIPAC anyways).”
“Hey Congressman Dan Goldman, we see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee,” the deleted publish reads. “Do you see how it doesn’t taste like genocide juice? Or are you still having a hard time telling the difference?”
NCS has reached out to Poetica Coffee for remark.
Goldman is dealing with a tricky major problem Tuesday from former metropolis comptroller Brad Lander, who’s backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and highlighted Goldman’s previous help from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Lander has referred to Israel’s offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, assaults as a genocide – claims the Israeli authorities denies – and accused Goldman of being beholden to AIPAC.
About 1,200 individuals had been killed and greater than 250 others taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. More than 70,000 individuals have been killed in Gaza for the reason that battle started following Hamas’ assaults.
Speaking Monday, Goldman accused Lander of utilizing AIPAC “as a dog whistle” and mentioned that he would “refuse to cave into that type of rhetoric and that divisiveness.”
“I have many issues with Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu, but simply because I support the existence of Israel as a Jewish state, as the only Jewish state, does not by any means, mean that I support everything that government does,” Goldman mentioned. “And in fact I do not and I’ve been very open about that.”
Lander issued an announcement to The New York Times denouncing the coffee shop’s publish.
“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 mentioned.
Goldman additionally responded to Justice Department civil rights chief Harmeet Dhillon’s announcement that her division had opened an investigation into the coffee shop.
“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 mentioned. “I mean, I don’t ask for the antisemitism, but I’m a public figure and I can accept the criticism.”