An attack on diners outside a sushi restaurant by people shouting anti-Israel slogans is being investigated by Los Angeles police as an antisemitic hate crime.
The attack came as a deadly battle continued in the Gaza Strip, escalating tensions in the U.S. among supporters of Israel and those who back the Palestinians.
A video capturing part of the attack shows people in a caravan of cars flying Palestinian flags yelling, “F— you” and “You guys should be ashamed of yourselves” as they drive by the restaurant.
At one point before the attack, which later escalated to kicking and punching, a person can be heard yelling, “Israel kills children!”
“We don’t know what the motivation is of the people who perpetrated this hate crime, but we’re certainly aware [that] what happens in Israel — what happens in the Middle East — does impact us here on the ground,” said Jeffrey Abrams, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Los Angeles.
A witness told The Times that people from the car caravan began throwing bottles and other items at diners.
“They were chanting, ‘Death to Jews’ and ‘Free Palestine,’” said the witness, who asked to remain anonymous because he feared for his safety. “They had malice.”
In the video, about eight people, most dressed in black, converge on the diners. The fight grows increasingly violent as it spills farther onto the sidewalk. One man swings a metal stanchion at the attackers, who then push him against a car, punch and kick him, the video shows.
“Guys, guys, it’s not worth it,” another man can be heard saying over a megaphone in the video as the attackers disperse down the street.
On Twitter, Mayor Eric Garcetti said: “We as a city condemn last night’s organized, anti-Semitic attack. Jewish Angelenos, like all residents, should always feel safe in our city.”
