Tuesday, June 04, 2024
Berkshire Jewish community reeling from 'antisemitic' incident at Great Barrington coffee shop
Town officials and the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires are condemning a new incident of antisemitism in town.
The Jewish Federation of the Berkshires this week issued a statement decrying the "blatantly antisemitic targeting" of Fuel Coffee Shop and its Jewish owners by "anti-Israel protesters" on Saturday.
The Federation said it was "disturbed and saddened" by the incident, and that it appeared to have been "instigated by a disgruntled employee" who had been fired for "sharing his political opinions with patrons during working hours." The employee, the statement said, had been "let go after multiple requests by management to refrain" from doing this.
"The protesters disrupted sidewalk traffic in front of the business holding signs and chanting that Fuel Coffee supports genocide," the statement said. "One sign specifically targeted the owners by name."
Owner Elan Merkel — who owns Fuel with his wife Lydia Merkel and Carol Keuma-Hipwell — declined comment and said none of the owners would speak to the press right now. Keuma-Hipwell could not immediately be reached.
At its Monday night meeting, Great Barrington Select Board Vice Chair Leigh Davis said Saturday's events — which she had been informed about by others who were there — made for a "sad, sad, sad day for Great Barrington."
"For me, the protests outside a small business had nothing to do with alleviating suffering that was happening in Gaza," Davis said. "For me, it's blatant antisemitic behavior when you have a name of a business owner on a sign with the word 'genocide.'"
Board Chair Stephen Bannon said that "it's one thing to protest in front of the Town Hall, but it's another thing to go in front of Jewish-owned businesses because they're Jewish-owned businesses, and that is crossing a line."
The "Rage for Rafah" protest slated for 10 a.m. at Town Hall was organized by local political groups, Anti Imperialist Solidarity, Berkshires for Collective Liberation and the Berkshires chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, according to social media.
The rally appears to have moved from a permitted protest at Town Hall to the corner of Bridge and Main streets, according to social media announcements and other accounts of how it unfolded. From there, the group moved to the sidewalk outside Fuel. Police were called to keep order.
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