Jewish Man Kicked Out Of Oakland Coffee Shop Because Of Star Cap, Cops Threaten Him With Arrest

Posted • November 4, 2024: Jewish Man Is Kicked Out Of Oakland Coffee Shop Because Of Jewish Star Cap, Cops Under Fire For Forcing Him To Leave And Threaten With Arrest — Oakland, California - A man says he was kicked out of a coffee shop in North Oakland because he was wearing a Star of David hat. "You're being asked to leave. You're causing a disruption. This is a private business. You're being asked to leave," the owner of Jerusalem Coffee House at 54th Street and Telegraph Avenue told Jonathan Hirsch as Hirsch recorded the confrontation on Saturday afternoon. "This gentleman asked me to leave because of my hat," Hirsch can be heard saying on the video. The owner responded, "This is a violent hat, and you need to leave." -- "My hat is violent?" Hirsch asked. -- "Yes," the owner said.

In an interview with KTVU on Tuesday, Hirsch said, "I wear this hat all the time. I mean, I've had this hat for years. And it means a lot to me. It's meant a lot more over the last year." The dispute got more heated. "Are you a Zionist?" the owner asked Hirsch repeatedly. "I don't have to identify myself," Hirsch answered. "Get out!" the owner said. Hirsch told the owner he was welcome to call the police. "The police will come and they will educate him that what he's doing is wrong and that he's ignorant," he said on the video. Hirsch said he and his 5-year-old son ended up at the cafe because his child needed to go to the bathroom and his wife wanted a coffee. "I wasn't going out looking for a fight. But when someone comes up to me fighting, I can't teach my son, Jews are these meek people that run and cower," he said.

Oakland police arrived at the coffee shop. The argument continued and the owner taunted Hirsch and cursed him in the officers' presence. "I love Jewish people," the owner told Hirsch at one point, prompting an officer to tell the owner, "Stop!" The officers eventually told Hirsch to leave the cafe and that if he returned, he could be arrested for trespassing. Hirsch said a sergeant later told him the officers needed more training. Oakland police told KTVU the department is still investigating and has not determined whether the incident constituted a hate crime.