Poetica Coffee Preaches Community and "Genocide Juice" to Congressman Goldman. Mamdani is Sued by Journalist for Obstruction on Anti-Jewish Anti-Israel Actions. Rabbis Demand Apology from the Mayor.

This week’s newsletter is dedicated to the incredible life and legacy of artist Yaakov Agam. A sculptor and creator of kinetic art, Agam was a renowned Israeli artist who gained global recognition for his large-scale art installations and movement inspired pieces. Born in 1928 in Rishon Lezion, then British Mandate Palestine, Agam lived in Paris for decades. His work was exhibited in museums around the world, and in 2017 a museum in his name opened in his hometown.

In an April 2026 interview, Agam talked about the influence Judaism had on his work:

“I grew up with an instinctive sense of creativity, and that’s the basis of Judaism, the sense of creativity, that nothing stands in one place, that change is based on the viewer’s position, and things look different every time. The reality is what shifts, and that’s to open your thoughts and creativity and understanding and expression of the reality in another way. Reality changes all the time, too, and so does one’s outlook. Judaism was always the basis of my work because my father was a rabbi; it was always about values, about the worldview of Judaism.”

Agam died in Israel this Sunday at the age of 98.

A note for the week’s newsletter: the NYC primary results are in. Above the Scroll will continue to cover the candidates that won when issues of antisemitism arise, but there is so much other news that we will not be covering the election results this week. Some excellent coverage on this subject can be found on Mo News, the Wall Street Journal, City & State, Times of Israel, NY Post and JTA. Also Hen Mazzig in his piece Where Free Palestine Meets Rising Rents and Dan Senor’s podcast, Call Me Back, has an interview with Reihan Salam, the President of the Manhattan Institute. This is a must-listen episode if you want to understand the DSA and how they infiltrated the political establishment. The full interview is available for subscribers on Inside Call Me Back.

• POETICA COFFEE BANS JEWISH CONGRESSMAN IN ANTISEMITIC SOCIAL MEDIA RANT. DOJ IS NOW INVESTIGATING.

  • Poetica Coffee, a coffee shop with multiple locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan, posted an antisemitic tirade on their social media accounts last Sunday after Congressman Dan Goldman stopped by with his daughter. Poetica, who preaches community and a “welcoming space for neighbors and visitors alike” on their website, told a Jewish Congressman they would have turned him away and referred to his coffee as “genocide juice.” The full post is below, screenshot from Facebook, and makes it clear that Goldman should never “come to Poetica.”

    

  • This was a big story that garnered national attention with coverage in The New York Times, NY Post, NBC, CNN, AM NY, JTA, and Times of Israel (a story I contributed to), as well as multiple other outlets.

  • Mamdani did not fully condemn Poetica’s barring Congressman Goldman from the coffee shop. The NY Post reports that the mayor was asked by a reporter if the social media tirade was an “OK way for someone to express political disagreements” and he said “I have many political disagreements with Congressman Goldman when it comes to his votes and his views on Israel. What we saw online goes beyond that.”

  • Parviz Mukhamadkulov, the owner of Poetica, is from Uzbekistan and has a long history of antisemitic, anti-Israel activity on his business and personal social media accounts. All of the accounts have been deactivated, but a clear pattern of anti-Israel activity was present going back October 7, 2023, including an X response to Ukrainian President Zelensky that said: “How come when its Ukraine they are fighting for their land when its Palestine they are terrorists?”

    

  • Congressman Goldman, who lost the primary to Brad Lander two days after this incident, responded to Poetica’s post:

    “I had such a nice interaction with the barista in the coffee shop. 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.” - Congressman Dan Goldman

  • On Wednesday, the Jewish activist group End Jew Hatred, had a protest outside one of Poetica Coffee’s locations. A small group of counter-protestors were also present.

    

    Photo Source: NY Post

  • The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice has now opened an investigation into Poetica Coffee for their “denial of service taunts,” which could potentially be a violation of federal law.

    • Congressman Goldman, who has previously accused the Trump administration of weaponizing the DOJ, said he preferred the resources of the department not be used on him:

      “I would rather they spend their time and resources investigating antisemitism against people who do not have a platform that I do, who are not elected officials, who do not — in some ways — ask for this. I mean, I don’t ask for the antisemitism, but I’m a public figure and I can accept the criticism.”

• MAMDANI CALLED AIPAC “MONSTERS.” RABBIS COALESCE TO DEMAND AN APOLOGY

  • Last week’s newsletter covered the story of the mayor singling out AIPAC and calling the pro-Israel group “monsters” while wearing a Knicks jersey during a rally for his far-left primary candidates.

    

    Photo Source: Jerusalem Post via Getty Images

  • Over 700 rabbis have signed onto a letter requesting Mamdani apologize for his language and stating his rhetoric is fueling antisemitism. The letter states:

    “By casting pro-Israel civic participation as monstrous, conspiratorial and anti-democratic, Mr. Mamdani has put a target on the backs of American Jews and their allies. Mayor Mamdani should apologize. He should retract his remarks and affirm clearly that Jews and pro-Israel Americans are full participants in our democracy.”

    “Criticizing Israeli policy is not antisemitic. Treating millions of Zionist Jews as morally suspect, politically illegitimate, or less deserving of equal participation in public life is.”

MORE IN NYC NEWS

• MAMDANI SUED OVER ALLEGED OBSTRUCTION OVER RECORDS PERTAINING TO ANTISEMITISM AND ISRAEL

  • A lawsuit has been filed in New York’s Supreme Court claiming a “pattern of obstruction” around the mayor and previously submitted FOIL requests. Investigative journalist Richard Behar and ex-deputy NYC mayor Randy Mastro filed the lawsuit based on FOIL requests Behar had submitted months ago on two main issues:

    • Executive Order 1 rescinding the IHRA definition of antisemitism.

    • Executive Order passed by the Adams administration that Mamdani rescinded, which barred City Agencies from participating in BDS actions against Israel.

      “At a time when antisemitic violence in New York City has reached historic levels, the public has a compelling interest in understanding why Mayor Mamdani chose, as his first official act, to dismantle the very protections his predecessor had put in place to address this crisis.” - Richard Behar

  • Behar filed two FOIL requests: January 13 and May 8, 2026. Mastro’s law firm took on the lawsuit on a pro bono basis once the mayor’s office advised Behar he would not receive a response until August 2026 for the first FOIL request, and November 2026 for the second.

    • Behar wants all the records regarding the decisions, studies, research, interoffice documents, as well as records containing the words antisemitism, IHRA, Jewish, Israel, BDS. etc.

      “That’s not a timely response. That’s just an obstruction and hoping the moment will pass. The whole point of news gathering and news reporting is to keep the public informed. When journalists make these requests, they’re really made on behalf of the public, not to bury the issue and respond 11 months later.” - Randy Mastro

  • Above the Scroll covered this back in March, and it holds true that this story is still not getting enough mainstream media attention. The Jerusalem Post and the Jerusalem News Syndicate (JNS) have primarily been the only two outlets covering this story, with some local coverage by the Queens Eagle.

  • What are FOIL requests?

    • Freedom of Information Law, also known as FOIL, are requests that can be made by the public for state or local government documents. FOIL’s fall under state law and require agencies to respond to document requests made by the public unless there is an exemption. Request for NYC records can be made here.

    • How long does the government have to respond?

      • Article 6, Section 89(3)(a) of the Freedom of Information Law covers FOIL requests. It requires the appropriate government agency to:

        • Respond to a FOIL request within five business days of the written receipt.

        • An agency cannot deny a request simply because its “voluminous” or “burdensome.”

        • The agency must provide the records within twenty business days from the date of acknowledgment of the request. If the records can’t be provided within twenty business days, the agency must provide (in writing) the reason for the delay and a “date certain within a reasonable period” that the request for records will be granted, either in whole or in part.

ANTISEMITISM IN AMERICA

• National Teachers Union Under Investigation for Antisemitism

  • A federal investigation has been launched against the National Education Association, a public school teachers union, for alleged antisemitic discrimination.

  • Earlier this year, a voluminous complaint was filed by the Brandeis Center, alleging Title VII violations of the Federal Civil Rights Act. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is investigating the complaint.

  • Allegations of Jewish members of the union include:

    • harassment and physical intimidation at a 2025 convention;

    • cheering and laughing at the convention related to the 2025 Boulder molotov-cocktail attack against those calling for the release of Israeli hostages, which resulted in multiple burn injuries and the death of Karen Diamond;

    • a map of Palestine that excludes Israel;

    • an attempt to boycott the Anti-Defamation League;

    • the union’s national handbook removed Jews as the primary victims of the Holocaust. Pushback resulted in the language being changed back but no apology was issued;

    • a push for education on the Nakba and displacement of 750,000 Palestinians, with no mention of the violence against Jews in 1948;

    • denying mentorship and training opportunities for Jewish union members.

• Antisemitic Banners Hung byProtestors on California Highways

  • The group Combat Antisemitism posted on their social media accounts that pro-Palestinian protestors have for weeks been hanging banners over a California highway that have defaced the Israeli flag with the word “terrorist” and bloody handprints.

    

• United Nations - Ilana Gritzewsky, an Israeli woman kidnapped from her kibbutz, physically and sexually abused, and held hostage by Hamas, spoke at the UN. Gritzewky recounts her terror and abuse, but also questions why the UN has no mention of Hamas in their report on violence against women. She also confronts Reem Alsalem, the UN’s special rapporteur for violence against women and girls, when she appears emotionless during Gritzewsky’s testimony, telling her:

  “When I and other Israeli women begged not to be raped, why were you silent? Please look at me. Do you believe us now? Will you apologize?”

• France - While this is an opinion piece, it is worth sharing as it provides a perspective directly from the affected individual, in this case Rabbi Dr. Yoni Birnbaum from Britain. He shared his experience trying to book a summer holiday rental in Eastern France.

  • Rabbi Birnbaum says he used his personal email address (which has the word “rabbi” in it) in booking, paying the deposit and exchanging emails with the property owners. He describes it being “entirely routine” until he received an email from the owners a month later asking him what kind of Jew he was (given his email address), if he supported the actions of the Israeli army in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon, and on and on. The entirety of the email can be read in the link above, but the conclusion says that if the Rabbi cannot meet the outlined criteria, the reservation would be cancelled and the deposit refunded.

  • The Rabbi sent a lengthy response, questioning why the owners felt it was necessary, based solely on his email, to “subject [him] to a purity test.” He writes:

    “But a society has crossed a dangerous line when a Jew cannot simply be a customer, a neighbour, a colleague, a student or a holidaymaker. The moment a Jew is first required to explain, justify or distance themself before being accepted, equality has already been abandoned. And when that happens, those who claim to oppose prejudice should have the courage to recognize it for what it is.”

    

Photo Source: The Jewish Chronicle

• Australia - A Judge just ruled that the evidence obtained against two nurses who spewed antisemitic hate and threatened Israeli patients on a video that went viral in February 2025 was not admissible in court.

  • Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 27, and Ahmad Rashad Nadir, 28, were charged with carriage service to menace, harass, or offend and threaten violence to a group. They plead not guilty earlier this year.

  • The video was taken by Max Viefer, an Israeli content creator, on the app Chatruletka. In the video when asked about Israeli patients, Nadir says “You have no idea how many Israeli s*** dogs came to this hospital, and I sent them to hell” and Lebdeh says “I won’t treat them, I’ll kill them.”

  • The Judge ruled the video was improperly obtained or went against Australian law and was inadmissible.

  • Veifer issued a lengthy statement after the ruling, claiming the Judge’s decision put Australian Jews in harms way and removed any deterrent for hateful rhetoric that could turn into a hate crime against a vulnerable community:

    “Now you can threaten to kill Israeli patients in a hospital, brag about killing Jews, openly express hatred on camera, but if the person recording didn’t get your permission first, the evidence is ruled inadmissible, the threats are no longer visible to the court, and the people who made them get to argue that there is not enough evidence. What a dangerous message to send. Not don’t threaten Jews, but make sure nobody records you doing it. Even if someone does record you bragging about killing Israelis and threatening Israeli patients while you’re a nurse in a hospital, just say you didn’t consent to being recorded.”

• Great Britain - the British Medical Association (BMA) will no longer use the IHRA defintion of antisemitism. The IHRA definition was adopted a decade ago by the British government and last year by the National Health Service (NHS), but the BMA passed a motion this week saying the definition is revoked across NHS until “‘proper safeguards’ are in place to help protect ‘free speech in healthcare settings.’”

  • The BMA represents over 200,000 doctors and students across Britain. They issued a statement asking to:

    “immediately investigate the impact of IHRA definition adoption on NHS staff, particularly regarding the chilling effect on legitimate political speech and professional expression of ethical concerns about Israel's actions in Palestine.”

  • The BMA motion came after Lord Mann, the independent advisor on antisemitism, published a review on antisemitism in the NHS. Opposition to recommendations made by this review that would be implemented in hospitals claim Mann is a Zionist, that the review is “pro-Israel indoctrination,” racist, and handed out flyers saying “Hands Off Our Healthworkers, we will not be silent about the genocide in Palestine.”

  • Journalist Nicole Lampert on X:

    

    Nicole Lampert@nicolelampert

    Blood libels in our health service. The doctor’s union (BMA) conference has shown us just how bad things are in the NHS. Worse than I imagined. Here’s a doctor lying about targeted killings and exaggerating the number of children dead (apparently she knows more than the Gaza

    3:11 PM · Jun 25, 2026 · 8.75K Views

    23 Replies · 104 Reposts · 319 Likes

• Italy - Meir Brauner, a prominent Jewish LGBTQ activist and deputy director of Keshet Italia, has returned to Israel, citing post-October 7 antisemitism as the reason. Keshet Italia was recently covered in Above the Scroll for being barred from the parade because they did not condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza enough for the liking of the organizers.

  • Brauner says life has become untenable and hostile for Italian Jews. He says his non-Jewish friends no longer speak to him, he eschews speaking Hebrew in public, and conceals his Star of David necklace on public transportation.

    “If you are not aligned with the anti-Zionist position, you are not allowed to speak.” - Meir Brauner

    

Photo Source: YNet News

• A Jewish Community Center Becomes a Safe Haven in Caracas

  • The tragic earthquake that hit Venezuela this week is beyond measure. Hebraica, the Jewish community center in Caracas, has become a safe haven and emergency shelter. Sleeping accommodations, meals, and Shabbat are being made available to a community that was already in need prior to the earthquake.

    “Based on all the years of hardships we’ve had — massive power outages and other problems — the community already knows where they can go if something happens.” - Roberto Mishkin, president of the Union Israelita de Caracas

  • NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief, an Israeli organization, immediately sent an aid team to Venezuela. Although Israel has no diplomatic relationship with Venezuela, they are arriving as medical aid workers.

    “We do not arrive with flags first. We arrive with medicine, listening, and respect. That is often the strongest form of diplomacy.” - Alice Miller, CEO of NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief

Stories are already circulating that the corruption and ineffectiveness of the Venezuelan government are contributing to difficulty in the recovery effort and the suffering of those affected and missing. A Go Fund Me fundraising effort that has been vetted by news sites and Venezuelan friends. You can donate here or to NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief.

• HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR HONORED WITH HUNDREDS TURNING OUT TO HER FUNERAL

  • Jonny Daniels, a prominent Jewish activist and founder of From the Depths Foundation, posted on his social media accounts this week that Regina Puterman, a 102-year-old Holocaust survivor, had passed away with no surviving family. There was a concern that not enough people would be present to have a minyan for her funeral.

    

  • Daniels posted the above message this week to his social media community. Hundreds of people turned out to pay their final respects and make sure Regina would not be alone.