I am a strong and committed Zionist. Is there genocide occurring in the Middle East? You bet there is!
Refer back to a series of pogroms before the establishment of the modern-day State of Israel in 1948, where Jewish women, children and elderly men were mowed down. Recall the wars of 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973—and all the other attacks and attempts by Israel’s neighbors to invade and eliminate as many people as possible.
If that’s not genocide, then nothing is.
The events of Oct. 7, 2023, were genocide writ large. It was the very definition of genocide, a paradigm case, when thousands infiltrate a country’s border and attempt to maim and murder as many people as possible. That Black Shabbat, Hamas-led terrorists succeeded in slaughtering 1,200 people in southern Israeli communities and kidnapping 251 others into Gaza.
Have Palestinian civilians been killed in the aftermath of this tragic event? Yes. These actions are the fault of Hamas, Hezbollah and their ilk. They use their own people as shields. Not even the Nazis did that during World War II. These terrorists place their rocket and drone launchers near hospitals, schools, playgrounds and then complain—with the support of those who really should know better—that the Israel Defense Forces were responsible for their deaths.
Let me now quote and comment on—from a Zionist perspective—the statement of Parviz Mukhamadkulov, the owner of Poetica Coffee, a cafe in Brooklyn, N.Y.
He asserted, as follows: “Hey, Congressman Dan Goldman, we see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee. Do you see how it doesn’t taste like genocide juice? Or are you still having a hard time telling the difference? See, here at Poetica, we don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers or anyone in between. Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away. We issued you a refund—we don’t need your money (it’s probably coming from AIPAC anyway). Enjoy your loss on Tuesday. Don’t ever come to Poetica.”
Goldman, a Democrat, has represented New York’s 10th Congressional District since 2023. He lost in the June 23 primary to former city comptroller Brad Lander.
Homophobes, Mr. M? There are very few of them in Israel; they not only allow gay-pride parades, they positively welcome and encourage them. In sharp contrast, any Palestinian state would execute them.
But wait. Does this not constitute incitement? No. Mukhamadkulov is not asking anyone to murder people of the Jewish faith. He is not even requesting that others follow his path and prohibit Hebrews from their commercial establishments. He is merely announcing his own policy, thereof.
What are the economic implications of his statement? It’s a fair bet to assume that no Jew will ever again cross his threshold, even those traitors and self-haters who were foolish and evil enough to have voted for Zohran Mamdani to be mayor of New York City. Poetica will lose profits from their disappearance.
On the other hand, this establishment will likely gain more customers from other haters of Israel, Zionism and Jews in general. It’s difficult to know which effect will outweigh the other.
A third group, consisting of those who are neutral about Israel versus Iran and its proxies, will likely boycott Poetica.
Still, at a time when Jews are being murdered in the United States, Canada, England and many other countries far removed from the Middle East, when potshots are being taken at Jews walking peacefully down the street, when rifle bullets pierce synagogue walls, when Jewish elementary schools must hire private guards, and when Jews fear to wear kippahs and the Jewish star, I, for one, welcome statements of this sort.
After all, “sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me.”
The following was Goldman’s reflective response to the wrath of the cafe owner: He replied that he was “sorry” to see the post, saying that the “barista could not have been nicer to my 7-year-old daughter and me.”
He also wrote that he hoped the barista would be allowed to keep the tip he gave.
