Rep.Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., is offering his side of the story after a New York City coffee shop blasted him for visiting the store and banned him from returning over his support of Israel. Appearing on CNN’s "Laura Coates Live" Monday night, Goldman expressed his dismay surrounding a situation involving Brooklyn’s Poetica Coffee last week, after the shop shared a surveillance image of Goldman with an accompanying caption revealing he was not welcome back."I had such a nice interaction with the barista in the coffee shop," Goldman told CNN’s Laura Coates.
"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."Goldman said that the post he saw online was a stark contrast to the actual interaction he had while visiting the shop.SMOOTHIE KING FIRES EMPLOYEES WHO REFUSED TO SERVE CUSTOMERS OVER TRUMP SWEATSHIRTRep.
Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., stands outside the Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026.(Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital.)"It was diametrically opposite to that post that I came upon later, and it’s a reflection, I think, of a sad state of affairs that, without knowing me, we could’ve had such a nice interaction," Goldman said.
"Two people, obviously from different backgrounds, different faiths, but that’s what America is and that’s what New York City is.That is what I believe in.""And the idea of accusing someone who you don't know of supporting a genocide, I mean, it's crazy.
It's crazy," he continued."Now, I may disagree as to whether or not there's a genocide.
But, come on, we're better than this.And we need to be better than this."Goldman, who is Jewish, describes himself as a liberal Zionist and has been critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He objects to the notion that Israel is committing a "g...