Another incident occurred last month in New York City, where a Brooklyn coffee shop said in a since-deleted social media post that
had staff recognized him, they would have turned away the Democratic congressman Dan Goldman,
who had been at the cafe with his daughter earlier that day,
over his support for Israel.

“We don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between,” the post read.

The incident sparked immediate backlash, with some accusing the shop of antisemitism.

The US justice department’s civil rights division has said it is investigating the cafe for potentially discriminating against a patron
“based on their race, religion or national origin”.

In an interview with CNN, Goldman called the episode “sad”
but said he would rather the justice department spend its resources
“investigating antisemitism against people who do not have a platform that I do, who are not elected officials”.

Goldman, an Israel supporter who was endorsed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac)
and received funding from aligned political action committees,
has since lost his primary to Brad Lander.

Both are Jewish,
but Lander is far more critical of Israel,
a stance that helped propel him to a resounding victory in the progressive Brooklyn and Manhattan district Goldman had represented.

Goldman has since said that his support for Israel has cost him the election.

“Ultimately this really did come down to Israel-Gaza,” he said in an interview with CNN.

“It has taken on a massive and outsized role in Democratic politics.”

Goldman’s loss was perhaps the most vivid example of how reflexive support for Israel
– once viewed as a prerequisite for political viability
– is no longer a safe bet,

and many otherwise progressive Democrats are learning that the hard way
as a number have lost seats in recent primaries to unabashedly pro-Palestinian challengers.

“It used to be that politicians on the broader left could be progressive on many issues except for Palestine,
but that’s really not the case anymore,”
Ashik Siddique, co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, which has backed many such candidates,
said in a recent interview. “It has become a very clear litmus test.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/05/gaza-protests-democrats-debate-on-tactics?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other