Suspect charged over antisemitic attack on Jewish couple on way to Beverly Hills synagogue
Between 7 October and 7 December, antisemitic incidents reached the highest level ever for a two-month period
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A suspect has been charged over an alleged antisemitic attack on a couple who were on their way to a synagogue in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
Harris Jay Silagi, 44, was charged with one count of attempted second-degree robbery, one count of elder or dependent adult abuse, one count of assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, after a couple were attacked in a robbery attempt.
The 44-year-old is also facing special allegations of committing a hate crime.
The couple, who asked to only be identified as Raphy and Rebecca, said they were attacked near the area of North Rexford Drive and North Santa Monica Boulevard when the man ran up behind them.
“All of a sudden, I see the guy hitting my husband with the belt and screaming, ‘Give me your earrings, Jew,’” Rebecca told NBC.
The couple then chased after the assailant before police noticed the commotion and called for backup.
Mr Silagi was arrested moments after. If he is convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Raphy said the attack left him needing four staples on his head to seal up a wound.
“I was enraged, not because of the thing, but because I was hit as a Jew,” he said.
Separately, LA county district attorney George Gascón announced charges in a case involving a man who allegedly vandalized a synagogue in Burbank and a business with antisemitic graffiti.
Klinton Allister Dion, 32, was charged with 12 felony counts, including hate crime allegations.
“Such acts of antisemitism have no place in our community, and we continue to be committed to ensuring justice prevails and holding the defendant accountable. Our thoughts are with the victims and all those who continue to be targeted for their faith,” said Mr Gascón.
Meanwhile, in November, nearly two dozen headstones at an OhioJewish cemetery were defaced with “sickening” antisemitic graffiti.
Hate crimes targetting Jewish and Arab-Muslim communities have risen across the country since Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people and took hundreds hostage across the Gaza border in an attack on Israel on 7 October.
In the same month, the Anti-Defamation League said it had recorded a “significant spike in antisemitic incidents” since the 7 October attacks.
And between 7 October and 7 December, antisemitic incidents reached the highest level ever for a two-month period since the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) began tracking the figure in 1979, topping 2,000.
“This terrifying pattern of antisemitic attacks has been relentless since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, with no signs of diminishing,” Jonathan Greenblatt CEO of the ADL, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization, said it had received 2,171 requests for help since the attack as of 7 December.