Judge Fines Owner of California Cafe That Sold ‘Sweet Sinwar’ Juice $59,000 for Defying Repeated Court Orders

A federal judge is giving 30 days to the owner of an Oakland, California, cafe, Jerusalem Coffee House — which offered a drink named “Sweet Sinwar” in honor of the Hamas terrorist leader — to pay nearly $60,000 for repeated violations of court orders.The owner of the cafe, Abdulrahim Harara, is facing three lawsuits — one brought by the Justice Department, one brought by the Anti-Defamation League, and one brought by the Brandeis Center — over allegations the establishment discriminated against Jewish customers. Among the claims was video captured in October 2024 showing Mr. Harara telling a customer wearing a hat bearing the Star of David to leave because it is a “violent hat.”In September, Mr. Harara announced the closure of the cafe, saying the move would allow him to devote all his attention to the litigation. His evident lack of attention, however, led a federal magistrate judge, Thomas Hixson, to penalize him for violating court orders during the discovery process. “There is no dispute that Defendant Abdulrahim Harara violated at least six discovery orders,” Judge Hixson said in an October 29 order, calling his violations “serial.” “He needs to pay for what he did.”The judge said Mr. Harara’s “conduct basically falls into three buckets: documents were produced late that should have been produced earlier; some document productions are incomplete; and there has been a wholesale failure to produce email.” The judge said Mr. Harara did not provide a good excuse for not producing his emails. Judge Hixson said the emails could “contain statements” about what more information about the defendant’s alleged conduct and motivations. However, even in the absence of the emails he believes the evidence is enough to show Mr. Harara’s “allegedly prejudicial intent.”The judge cited outdoor signs that with inverted red triangles, which the plaintiffs say are a “symbol used by Hamas to mark Israeli targets in propaganda videos,” as well as the “apparent introduction on the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attack of a juice item named for the mastermind of the attack” Yahya Sinwar. Sinwar was eliminated by Israeli Defense Forces in a firefight at Rafah in October 2024.Mr. Harara’s legal troubles began in February 2025 when plaintiff Michael Radice first filed his civil lawsuit. The complaint alleges that Mr. Harara berated Mr. Radice and refused to serve him because he is Jewish. “You’re the guy with the hat. You’re the Jew. You’re the Zionist. We don’t want you in our coffee shop. Get out,” three employees allegedly yelled at him. In March 2025, another customer, Jonathan Hirsch, sued the cafe, alleging that he and his five-year-old son were kicked out because they were Jewish. In a video of the incident, Mr. Harara insisted he asked Mr. Hirsch to leave because he was “antagonizing people.”The Justice Department also sued Mr. Harara for allegedly declining to serve other customers because they were Jewish. Attorneys for Mr. Harara have previously denied the allegations against their client. An attorney for the defendant, Glenn Katon, told a local TV station, ABC7, “I think it would be reprehensible if someone was denied service based on their religion. That’s not what happened here.”Although Judge Hixson recommended a lower court deny a request to rule in favor of Mr. Radice as a sanction for Mr. Harara’s violation of discovery orders, he said the defendant “needs to pay for what he did” to the court.“[Mr. Harara’s] serial violations of court orders significantly drove up Radice’s cost of litigating,” Judge Hixson ruled, though he calculated a lower penalty because “at times” it appeared as though Mr. Radice’s attorneys were “not just litigating a discrimination case” but were “out to destroy Harara.” Judge Hixson found that only about half of the $118,000 sought by the plaintiff was “incurred during the time when Harara was violating the discovery orders.” He ordered the defendant to pay $59,000 within 30 days.

Judge Fines Owner of California Cafe That Sold ‘Sweet Sinwar’ Juice $59,000 for Defying Repeated Court Orders

Judge Fines Owner of California Cafe That Sold ‘Sweet Sinwar’ Juice $59,000 for Defying Repeated Court Orders

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