That’s a whole latte hate!
A Bushwick coffee shop is serving up a side of anti-Semitism — with the owner taking to Instagram to speak out against greedy Jewish “infiltrators.”
Michael Avila, owner of The Bushwick Coffee Shop, which opened this summer, claims the 378-word tirade he posted to Instagram on Wednesday came from a well-intentioned place and was fueled by customers complaining about rent and housing issues in Brooklyn.
His post, which is making the rounds on the Internet, was specifically targeted at two Jewish men visiting from Israel who were looking to buy a building next door.
Avila, 32, called them “rude and cold” and said the incident was the tipping point that led him to blame Jewish people for ruining the up-and-coming feel of Bushwick.
“Ok, what I REALLY want to talk about is how to consider the Jews (oh yes, let’s talk about it) who want a piece or all of Bushwick,” he wrote in the rant, adding that Jews “function via greed and dominance.”
“Bushwick IS rising and progressing, and bettering, but us contributing or just appreciating this rise and over all positive change do not want to be lumped with greedy infiltrators,” Avila continued in the typo-ridden and sometimes incomprehensible post.
The rant, which garnered 27 likes and features a blurred block of text with the words “greedy infiltrators” in focus, set off steaming Instagrammers who were shocked by Avila’s thoughts.
“Don’t you realize that this is incredibly racist?” one user wrote. “Generalize all you want, but acknowledge that you are a bigot. Bigoted thinking is not going to make Brooklyn better.”
“As a young Jewish adult yes, I’m Jewish. I may not be religious or practicing, but I’m proud to say that it’s part of my identity), I can say with absolute certainty that the money-grubbing, over-reaching, overzealous people make up a VERY SMALL part of Judaism,” another commenter wrote.
Avila conceded that he was making generalizations, but only made matters worse singling out his own race.
“As a Hispanic I’m fine calling out any stereotypical [bulls–t] they can’t let go of,” he wrote.
Hours later, he posted two videos of Jews he’s “in love with,” including Roseanne Barr and a YouTube video that features Jews against Zionism, to prove that he was not “bigoted.”
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When he opened the coffee shop in July, Avila said he was focused on building a sense of community. But he’s found it troubling to hear of people getting kicked out of their homes to pave the way for fancy new apartment buildings.
“It tends to be a lot of Jewish people who are buying buildings here and then turning them into luxury condos, but it could apply to anyone of any race who is trying to be manipulate and self serving,” he said Thursday.
Avila stood by his statements, saying they were intended to “jolt people into some kind of awareness.”
“I apologize for any feelings that I may have hurt,” he said. “I love Bushwick and I hope it continues to love me back.”